The Eagles (9-8), who played no. 4 East Hall this past Friday, face no. 5 Calhoun May 3 in the first round of the state tournament.
“Not our best performance of the season but we got the win to take the third seed spot going into state competition,” East Jackson coach Chris Cooley said of the win.
Cooley said Dawson County played an attacking, aggressive game that put his team on the defensive but allowed counterattacking opportunities.
“The challenge with the strong wind was keeping the ball under control,” Cooley said.
After about 15 minutes, East Jackson carved through Dawson County’s defense with a quick attacking move involving Jake Pitcher, who set up Jonathan Zarco for the finish.
“While Dawson kept pressuring, we began to look comfortable and play our game a little more through the rest of that half, and held on to the lead,” Cooley said.
The second half followed the same trend: Dawson County pressuring and East Jackson counterattacking.
About 10 minutes into the half, Nishank Patel placed a long throw into the box. Dawson County’s keeper came to take it under pressure from East Jackson’s forwards, but underestimated the wind and deflected the ball into his own goal to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Down two goals, the Tigers pressured harder and scored with 20 minutes left in the half.
Cooley noted that Jake Pitcher struck a fine chest-and-volley from 20 yards, but Dawson County’s keeper pulled off an “awesome save.”
For East Jackson, Luis Herrera “made some excellent blocks and reaction saves to keep us in the lead,” Cooley said.
