The Cape Central Lady Tigers got two goals from all-stater Amber Voerg and defeated the Jackson Lady Indians 3-1 in the SEMO Conference soccer opener for both teams on Tuesday.

Central improved to 3-1-1, while the Lady Indians record evened at 2-2.

Played at the Southeast Missouri State Intramural Field, the game was closer than the final score indicated.

The Lady Tigers tallied two first-half goals to lead 2-0 at the intermission, but Jackson scored less than two minutes into the second half on a penalty kick by Erin Hartmann to close the gap to 2-1.

"We talked at halftime about how important the first 10 minutes of the second half is," said Cape Central coach Tom Doyle. "If they get a goal, they're right back in it. If we get a goal, the game is pretty much over. Well, lo and behold, a minute and a half in, they got one."

Trisha Klipfel scored the first goal for the Lady Tigers 14 minutes into the game. Jackson goalie Whitney Werner blocked two shot attempts from point-blank range, but Klipfel deposited a rebound into the net. Heidi Pilsner was credited with the assist.

Fifteen minutes later, Voerg netted a header from about 15 yards out off a pass from Julie Underwood.

After the Jackson goal, the contest turned into a defensive struggle with each team shutting down the other until the 75-minute mark.

At that point, the Lady Indians were penalized for an inadvertent hand ball in the box. Voerg took the kick and beat Werner with a shot to the lower right corner to ice the win.

Jackson held a 14-13 edge in shots-on-goal. Cape Central's Heather Hey recorded 11 saves, while Werner had six.

"I felt we played pretty evenly with them," said Jackson coach Zack Walton. "We need to keep working on putting the ball in the back of the net and taking advantage of key opportunities."

Cape Central's JV squeaked by Jackson 1-0 on an early first-half goal by Keely Lossing.