Federal League Title on the line in Jackson.

Jackson hosts Lake and North Canton this week to decide the 2009 League title. First up, Lake (7-5-1, 3-3-0) visits on Tuesday evening. On Saturday evening, Jackson hosts Hoover (8-4-2, 5-0-1) at 7pm. Jackson hosts Wadsworth on Thursday as well this week. These are the last regular season matches. 

The Polar Bears are currently ranked #4 in the State Poll, and were seeded #1 in the upcoming Kent Division I District Tournament. They will get a bye in the first round, and host Garfield on Saturday, October 24th. Hudson received the #2 Seed, Stow was the 3rd seed, and Twinsburg was the 4th seed. Last Tuesday, Jackson notched their 12th win of the season as they dispatched the Spartans from Boardman 4-1. Jackson raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Derek Zuniga scored twice. Danny Baraldi and Shawn Ayers also scored for the Bears. 

Polar Bears Rebound Well! 

Jackson bounced back from their first setback of the season last week to net three tough wins this week. Seniors Greg Marchand and Steve Fenstemaker both notched first half goals via rebounds off corner kicks on Saturday in Columbus. Derek Zuniga also slammed home a 22 yard free kick to give Jackson a 3-0 lead at half at Olentangy Liberty (7-2-2). The home side would pull one back in the second half, but Jackson's defense would hold pat the rest of the way to preserve the 3-1 win. Jimmy Costin was a load to handle up to for Jackson (11-1-0) and was credited with two assists. Chris Angelo also played a terrific match for the Bears. "Liberty is a solid team," noted Jackson coach Michael Biros. "We really came out strong and took the lead early. Much improved from our opening on Thursday. We also did well adjusting to the field conditions and a couple key injuries during the match. Overall, a good week for Jackson, considering the level of teams and playing on the road." 

Last Thursday, Jackson traveled to Copley in a match up against the state's top ten teams. Jackson were sluggish to start and struggled on the turf as Copley held a slight advantage in the first half. Jackson's lone goal would come halfway through the second half as Brian Morrison slammed home a beautiful cross from Danny Baraldi. Copley (ranked #6 in division 1) would have a couple of good second half chances, but the Polar Bear defense were able to hold tight for the shutout and a 1-0 win. It was Copley's first loss of the season. "It was a great night for soccer in Akron," noted Jackson Coach Michael Biros. "It was a beautiful evening, a big crowd, field full of very good players on both sides, a closely contested match, and an excellent match all-around." RJ Ihrig recorded Jackson's 8th shutout of the season in goal. On Tuesday, the Bears scored 4 goals in a five minute span, and ended up defeating Canton McKinley 9-0. The win moves Jackson to 4-0 in the league, and their 20th straight win over Federal League opponents. 

The Polar Bears return home for the remainder of the regular season. They only play one match this week as well. On Tuesday evening, Boardman visits for a key Federal League match. Jackson held the #3 spot in the state rankings last week, and #6 in the region.  

Wildcats Hand Jackson their first Loss. 

The undefeated, and the state's #1 ranked squad jumped out to an early lead and never looked back last Saturday evening. St. Ignatius (11-0-0) built a 3-0 lead on their home field in the first half and it remained the scoreline through the rest of the way. The Wildcats held a 9-4 advantage on shots. Jackson (8-1-0) did have some good chances to get on the board, but weren't able to push one in against a very strong defensive effort from St. Ignatius. Earlier in the week, Jackson fought off a pesky Perry side 2-0 on the road as well. Derek Zuniga nailed a 30 yard shot just under the crossbar while assisting a Joey Dennis goal as well. RJ Ihrig came up with a big save at the end of the match to preserve the shutout. Jackson (3-0-0) holds a slim lead over Hoover (2-0-1) in the Federal League race.

On Tuesday, Jackson finally returns home to play McKinley, but goes back on the road for the final time in the regular season the rest of the week. Thursday night, Jackson travels to Copley and to Olentangy Liberty on Saturday afternoon. Copley is the state's 6th ranked team and is currently undefeated. Liberty is the 6th rated squad in Columbus. 

Haupt Nets Two, Bears Blank Walsh 2-0. 

After a shaky and scoreless first half, Jackson (7-0) came out strong and took control with a James Haupt goal in the 49th minute. Ryan Galley assisted. Jackson also rattled the crossbar in the first fifteen minutes after the restart. Defensively, the Polar Bears stood strong as they fought off a few dicey moments. Jackson earned their 4th shutout in a row led by Seniors Greg Marchand, Brian Zilla, Brock Emrick, and Chis Angelo, and Junior Ben Clark. Senior Goalkeeper Alex Schauer made a couple of very nice stops to get his 2nd shutout of the year. Sophomore Heath Reichenbach came off the bench to add support to the defense as well. With ten minutes remaining, Senior Jimmy Costin used some individual brilliance on the wing to beat two defenders on the wing and slotted a pefect pass to Haupt for his second goal of the match. Junior striker Danny Baraldi (5 goals, 2 assists over 4 matches)  missed his third straight match from injury, but the offense still continues to click.

"We really came out and played well over the second half," said Jackson coach Michael Biros. "We were sluggish to start and a little slow to react in the first half. Walsh is very good in possession, and we did a much better job in the second half of shutting them down. Offensively, we got forward as a group much better in the second half, created several dangerous chances to score, and finished as necessary. It is a good win on the road, especially there (at Walsh)."

Last Tuesday, Senior Derek Zuniga led the Bears with a hat trick plus an assist to defeat Austintown Fitch 8-0 in Youngstown. Seniors Jimmy Costin and Greg Marchand each scored two goals with Senior Steve Fenstemaker scoring as well. Jackson dominated play throughout and didn't allow any dangerous scoring opportunities all night. Junior RJ Ihrig recorded the shutout, his 3rd of the season. Jackson moved to 2-0 in league play. 

Jackson is currently ranked 3rd in the State for Division I and moves into an interesting week of the season. On Tuesday, the Bears travel to Perry to battle the upstart Panthers at 7pm. Perry has their best team in years. On Saturday, Jackson ends their 5 game road trip in downtown Cleveland to play St. Ignatius at 7pm. The Wildcats are the state's and region's number one ranked team.

Bears Pitch Two Shutouts... Undefeated Going into Week 4 Action. Jackson (5-0) got off to a good start in League play with a convincing 3-0 win over GlenOak last Tuesday. Derek Zuniga struck early, and Jimmy Costin tallied a few minutes before half as the Bears took a 2-0 lead into half. Jackson clamped down on the defensive end the rest of the way, only allowing 2 shots on the evening, as goalie RJ Irig recorded the shutout. Daniel Baraldi notched a second half goal to ice the match despite only playing 10 minutes the whole evening due to injury. 

On Saturday, the Bears traveled to Solon, and dominated action enroute to a 3-0 win. Brian Zilla was all over the field and scored the first goal for Jackson as well. James Haupt and Greg Marchand also tallied on the afternoon. Derek Zuniga assisted on the two of the goals. Alex Schauer needed two stops in goal to record the shutout in his first start of the season. 

"We did a nice job Tuesday evening spreading the ball around, and controlling the tempo." said Jackson coach Michael Biros. "GlenOak has a very nice team and some quality players. It was a consistent performance and we had several players step up. Saturday, we struggled on the turf a bit. The game is a little different in regards to ball reception and movement.... something we just need to get used to. Overall, we are improving." 

The Polar Bears are currently ranked 4th in the State in Division I. Click here for rankings. Jackson moves back into League play with a trip to Youngstown to battle Austintown Fitch. On Saturday afternoon, the Bears will travel to Walsh for a 3pm match. According to Biros, "Fitch always plays tough at home, and Walsh is always a quality team and a tough match for us!" 

Bears hold off the Explorers... Federal Battle Looms! Jackson (3-0) fell behind early despite several good chances to take the lead of their own last Thursday evening. Hudson tallied in the 5th minute, but Danny Baraldi would even things up five minutes later with a finish from a James Haupt Cross. Jackson would take the lead one minute after the restart, with a Chris Angelo header, but Hudson would level things again with a 20 yard blast. Jackson would regain the advantage for good just a few minutes later with a Greg Marchand tap off of Derek Zuniga's cross. "Hudson played a strong game," noted Jackson coach Michael Biros. "They did some nice things offensively, scored a couple terrific goals, and played with a lot of passion. We created some very good scoring chances of our own, but didn't finish well overall. It still is a quality win against a tough team." 

Jackson has the weekend off, and moves into Federal League play with a tough opener against GlenOak. The Golden Eagles defeated Perry last week 2-0. Both teams squared off in the regular season and in Regional play last year with Jackson winning both matches. Tuesday night's match will take place at the Neitzelt Soccer Stadium at 7pm. Jackson returns to the road on Saturday with a trip to Solon at 2pm.  

Jackson is Hot Out of the Blocks! Polar Bears (2-0) finish a long grueling week with two quality wins. On Tuesday, the Bears defeated Avon Lake 7-0 on the road to open the season, and returned home on Thursday evening to defeat Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 3-1. 

Tuesday evening, Jackson survived the first day of school and a long bus ride up to Lake Erie to enjoy a good start to the season. Brian Zilla got things going with a nice finish early, and Jackson never looked back. Danny Baraldi registered a hat-trick and James Haupt would add two goals himself. Jimmy Costin and Derek Zuniga assisted on two goals each. Ryan Galley celebrated his birthday in his Varsity debut with a goal of his own. Jackson's defense also was strong as they recorded the shutout and held the Shoremen attack to only a few chances. 

On Thursday, the Bears opened the Neitzelt Soccer Stadium for play against the perrenially state-ranked Cardinal Mooney from Youngstown. Jackson started off a bit shaky, but Derek Zuniga slammed home a 30-yard free kick to take the lead midway through the first half. The Cardinals would level things a few minutes later with some good pressure and a long shot of their own. James Haupt would get the lead just before half off a cross from Jimmy Costin. James Haupt would get his second of the game (4th of the young campaign) later in the second half to ice the match for Jackson. He got on the end of a perfectly weighted ball from Danny Baraldi, and finished off the breakaway solidly.

Jackson's defense played well in both games this week, limiting the opponents to just a few good scoring chances. RJ Ihrig led the way in net with 5 saves on Thursday. Seniors Greg Marchand, Brian Zilla, and Brock Emrick have been solid in front of Ihrig. Juniors, Joey Dennis and Ben Clark have also added to make it a cohesive back line that looks to be tough to penetrate.

"It has been a long, and tough three weeks for the boys," noted Jackson coach Michael Biros. "We really haven't had a break since August 10th when we started training. We looked a little sluggish on Thursday, but it was a gutsy performance against a strong Cardinal Mooney team. The team did what they needed to do to pull through.  I'm pleased that we are creating numerous chances to score in both games. Our defense also held up well to a strong, agressive, and fast attack. It is a good start!"

Jackson gets to catch its breathe and will have the week off and hosts Hudson on Thursday, Sep 3rd. It is YOUTH NIGHT! All Jackson Select and NJSL players will get in free to the game with their uniform jersey on! Kickoff is at 7pm.