~ Top-ranked St. Joseph's scored three goals in the first half of a 4-1 victory.

After the first 15 minutes of Tuesday's Class 2 state sectional girls soccer game at Jackson, it looked like the host Indians were in for a long, painful evening.

For the next 65 minutes, however, Jackson held its own with nationally ranked St. Joseph's Academy, which ultimately got the best of the Indians in a 4-1 victory.

The Angels (22-0-1), who are ranked No. 1 in the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association state poll and No. 4 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, will play Incarnate Word in the state quarterfinal round Saturday at the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton.

St. Joe's wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. About 9 minutes into the game, Angels midfielder Colleen Kinealy headed a cross into the upper left portion of the goal, far beyond the reach of Jackson goalie Kylie Werner.

It got worse before it got better for the Indians (16-8-2).

Five minutes after the first goal, Chelsea Connelly dribbled past a Jackson defender inside the box and netted another goal for St. Joe's.

The Angels nearly scored a third goal a few minutes later when Werner was caught out of position after making an aggressive save. The ball ended up with a St. Joe's player inside the 18-yard line, but the shot was saved at the goal line by a Jackson defender.

Danielle Boyce gave the Angels a 3-0 advantage late in the half. Boyce lofted a shot from about 15 yards out over the head of Werner.

"I thought we came out and made some good saves," Jackson coach Zack Walton said. "I was pleased with it for a while, but there's not much you can do on some goals.

"The first half wasn't exactly what we wanted."

Jackson came alive in the second half and played fairly even with St. Joe's.

Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Jackson's Erin Curtis received an outlet pass on Jackon's end and dribbled through the midfield before lofting a perfect pass to teammate Bobbie Jo Schlick at the 18-yard line. Schlick split two defenders, settled the ball off her chest and drilled a shot past the St. Joe's goalie.

"Erin put a good ball right to the top of the 18, and Bobbie Jo did a nice job of finishing it," Walton said. "You could tell after that goal, that the intensity picked up a lot."

St. Joe's, which held Jackson to three shots on goal, had allowed just five goals in 22 games prior to Tuesday's contest.

While Jackson's offense was kept fairly quiet after the goal, its defense was strong the rest of the way. The Indians made several stops inside the box and forced numerous bad shots from St. Joe's threatening offense.

"They had some opportunities in there," Walton said, "but we were blocking shots and doing a good job of clearing the ball."

About midway through the second half, however, St. Joe's found the net on Alex Bayes' improbable rainbow shot from the end line that floated over a leaping Werner.

"It's tough when they score on fluky goals," Walton said. "It's just unlucky."

Walton said St. Joe's frequent substitutions took a toll on the Indians. The Angels have 23 players listed on their roster compared to Jackson's 17.

"They had a lot of depth, and they were able to sub often," Walton said.

Over the past several years, Jackson has seen its share of season-ending losses at the hands of St. Louis-area squads. The Indians have won five straight district titles but have advanced past the sectional round only once in those five seasons, with all of the losses coming to schools in the St. Louis region. The Indians defeated Francis Howell Central in a 2003 sectional matchup before losing to Lafayette in the quarterfinal round.

"I thought everybody played well on our team," Walton said. "We have nothing to hang our heads about. We hung with St. Joe's, and not a lot of schools can say that."