Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — For 71 minutes and 17 seconds, Jackson’s offense was rather silent on Thursday night.
But when Braelyn Brennan did what Braelyn Brennan does best with 8:43 left to play, she shattered that silence in a resounding way.
The junior gained possession near midfield and weaved her way between three defenders to create an open look at McClain’s goal. With one tap of the foot, Brennan sent the ball rolling — for what seemed like forever — into the bottom right-hand corner of the netting.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
And with a suffocating back line and a solid performance from keeper Jaylynn Montgomery, that’s all the Ironladies (4-1, 2-0 FAC) needed to keep pace atop the FAC standings in a 1-0 win.
“Tonight wasn’t pretty for us a lot of the time,” Jackson coach Karena Fulks said. “I’m not proud of the play that we had tonight. But a win is a win, especially an FAC win. So we’ll take it. But a lot of improvement is still to come for us and I think we’ll just continue to work to improve.”
Throughout much of the game, McClain’s defense kept Jackson’s trio of top-tier scorers well away from any scoring chances.
When Brennan, Sydney Carpenter or Lilian Mapes would receive the ball at their feet, they were often met with multiple defenders, and in a timely fashion.
In the meantime, the Tigers (5-1, 1-1 FAC) were aggressive, firing three early shots on target.
“McClain was phenomenal tonight,” Fulks said. “I watched film from last year and that team, just the improvement in one year from them, is amazing to see. They’re a great team, well-coached and full of athletes. They were more offensive-focused tonight. They tested our defense and our group really had to work for it tonight. We’re lucky to have walked away with a win tonight.”
PHOTOS: Images from Jackson’s win over McClain
McClain’s first shot on target took place just three minutes into the game. The Tigers would add a pair before Jackson took their first look at the net with 19:09 left in the first half.
At halftime, the game remained scoreless — in part, thanks to the play of Montgomery and teammate Adalyn Stone on the Ironladies’ back line.
“Jaylnn, coming out as a first-time goalkeeper [this year], she was phenomenal tonight,” Fulks said. “She was huge. Adalyn, our freshman in the back, stepped to the ball and was just very dominant throughout the entire game tonight.”
Much of the same took place in the second half.
That is, until Brennan worked her magic with less than 10 minutes to play.
“She’s a pinball,” Fulks said of Brennan. “She’s incredibly important to us. Braelyn is in a season where she knows she should be capitalizing more and she’s working in practice to do so. She’s trying to craft her shot and her skill. She disappears on the field and we’ve heard that from defenders. They lose her because she’s so small and so fast. But she’s so dominant as well.”
By the time the night was over, Jackson had out-shot McClain by a 10-8 total while both goalkeepers — Montgomery and McClain’s Kenzie Wise — each tallied eight saves.
While McClain looks to get back on track on Sept. 9 at Circleville, the Ironladies are back in action on Tuesday in non-league play, hosting Unioto.
“Big night for us,” Fulks said. “It was a big win for us last year. We hadn’t beaten Unioto in quite some time. They’re always full of talent and well-coached. They’ve always got great athletes. So it’ll be a big test for us.”
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