Jackson Christian soccer ends North Side's undefeated season

Jackson Christian brought North Side's undefeated season to an end on Thursday. But the good news for the Indians is that it was not an elimination game.

The Eagles won the Region 8 A-AA championship with a 3-2 victory over North Side.

North Side had beaten the Eagles in the previous two meetings this season.

"Going into the first one we didn't have Marshall Davis," Jackson Christian coach Jeff Lean said. "We looked at what we learned from the first meeting, and we said let's put something in place but not throw everything at them. As much as district championship is important, we knew that the region championship was even more important.

"I wanted them to feel like they saw three different teams. The first time was a 3-5-2 high pressure, the second was a 5-4-1 defensive shell low pressure and then today was back to a 3-5-2 but low pressure. It allowed our forwards to get forward."

Jackson Christian will host Trenton Peabody in a Class A-AA sectional on Saturday, while North Side will travel to Lexington.

Marshall Davis scored the lone goal in the second half to break the 2-2 tie and send the Eagles to the win. The other two Jackson Christian goals came from Parker Finton and an own goal.

Rodrigo Atilano scored both goals for the Indians.

• Lexington 2, Trenton Peabody 1: After 60 minutes of scoreless soccer, Tristan Lowery and Garret Winget scored to help the Tigers win the Region 7 A-AA championship with a 2-1 victory over Trenton Peabody.

Mikey Sanders scored for the Golden Tide, but they couldn't get a second goal.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.