Jacks defeat Manson in postseason opening round

QUINCY — The Jacks opened the postseason with a 1-0 win over Manson in the 1A District 6 tournament, surviving a late Trojan comeback bid.

Down 1-0 in second-half stoppage time, the Trojans had a run on the Quincy net, later leading to a penalty attempt. The shot missed, firing over the net.

“They wanted this win, they didn’t want their season to be over and it showed,” Quincy head coach Hector Vaca said. “They really fought.”

Quincy controlled possession well throughout the game, limiting Manson’s goal-scoring opportunities throughout the match.

“We’ve been emphasizing on possession — possession, possession, possession,” Vaca said. “If the other team doesn’t have the ball, they can’t be dangerous. We emphasize a lot on possession and creating plays, and it paid off today. Not enough goals, though.”

Manson was held to just three shots on the Quincy goal.

“It starts at their striker level, to our midfield and to our defense,” Vaca said. “It’s a whole team effort, being able to defend up top, being able to defend in the midfield and that translates over and makes it easier for our defenders and our keeper as well.”

The game’s lone goal came in the 11th minute when Quincy junior Kasey Toevs fired off a shot from just outside the penalty area and was buried in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead over Manson.

“I don’t remember a whole lot, it was all so fast — I knew I wanted to take shots this game, so I just took it and it felt great celebrating,” Toevs said.

The Jacks had plenty of shots in the game but only managed to score on Toevs’ shot in the 11th minute.

“We just need to play more calm, we were kind of rushing it,” Toevs said. “I think more goals will come if we just possess the game a little calmer.”

Vaca this has been something that has come up throughout the season for the Jacks.

“It’s a battle we’ve been having all year; controlling a lot of the game, we play really well, but we just can’t find the back of the net,” Vaca said. “It’s something that we’ve been trying to work, and work, and work, but sometimes soccer’s about luck, and a lot of times it’s not on our side.”

While Quincy led for most of the game, Manson was able to string together attacks late in the second half; the stoppage-time penalty shot was set up after a collision between a Manson and a Quincy player in the penalty area on a Trojan breakaway.

Quincy players began cheering as soon as the ball passed over the crossbar.

“I was pretty nervous at the end, but it was a great feeling once he missed,” Toevs said. “It shouldn’t have been that close, but it’s a great feeling to get that first win in the district playoffs.”

While most district playoff matchups are set against teams one may see two or three times during the regular season, the Caribou Trail League merges with the Central Washington 2B league for its postseason competition, setting up playoff matches against new teams. Vaca said it can be difficult to prepare for.

“It affects us a lot because we don’t see these guys — we don’t know what to prepare for, we don’t know really anything about the team,” Vaca said. “Luckily there’s some games we’re able to get on NFHS, but aside from that, we’ve got to just stick to our game and stick to what we know. Not try to do anything too fancy or too complicated.”

With the win, Quincy advances to face Bridgeport on Wednesday in Wenatchee. The winner automatically qualifies for the 1A Boys Soccer State Tournament, while the loser drops to a loser-out game against either Cascade (Leavenworth) or Cashmere on Saturday.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. 

Box score

MSN: 0-0 0
QCY: 1-0 1

    Quincy sophomore Erick Zepeda (17) battles for the ball against a Manson defender in the first half of Saturday’s district tournament game.
  

    Quincy sophomore Dominik Plascencia (7) gets past a Manson defender in the first half of Saturday’s match.
  

    Quincy senior Alexander Murillo (11) pushes the ball into the penalty area in the second half against Manson on Saturday.