By Yaneek Smith

Special to The Sentinel-Tribune

SYLVANIA — In a low-scoring, defensive struggle, the slightest twist or turn can be the difference between winning and losing, and Perrysburg found that out the hard way in its 1-0 loss to Toledo St. Francis in a Division I district final at Southview Soccer Stadium Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets, who finish the season 16-2-2, gave up a goal to Knight forward Gavin Trent at the 37:59 mark of the second half, and St. Francis held on from there.

It was a pretty evenly-contest match with Perrysburg, ranked seventh in the final state coaches’ poll, controlling the ball a little more than the Knights, who were seeded third and improved to 9-6-3 with the victory.

The Jackets, the top seed in the district, had a bevy of opportunities to score, especially in the latter stages of the second half, and a kick off the right post with 10:30 to play was one that nearly went in.

Perrysburg put up a valiant effort and attacked whenever it could, putting together a number of rallies while exerting pressure on the St. Francis defense and goalie Joel Neary.

The Jacket offense did what it could while falling just short and getting a great performance in goal from Isaac Revill, one of the team’s three captains, who made seven saves and kept his team in the game.

Neary, who was playing in place of Ben Baker, the normal goalie who got hurt kicking for the football team, made 13 saves.

The Knights, ranked 17th, handed the Jackets, the champions of the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division, their only two losses of the season, the other one being a 4-1 defeat in the opener at LeValley Stadium.

Perrysburg’s Alex Diaz, the all-time leading scorer in the history of the program with 60 goals, was injured less than two minutes into the match and made an effort to come back late in the second half but got hurt again with 9:12 to play.

“It’s hard to replace the best player in the district. You have the next man up and you have people that can jump in, but it’s nearly impossible to replace him,” said Perrysburg coach Dennis Jeansonne.

“He’s got a chance to score every time he touches the ball. He’s a four-year varsity player and came into the school the same time I did. So he’s kind of been Perrysburg soccer. You build a team around players like Alex Diaz.

“We had the lion’s share of chances, we just made one mistake. They put more people back behind the ball because they know how dangerous we are.”

Overall, there are 13 seniors on the team, led by Diaz and Taylor Thomas, the other captains. There is also Revill, Aidan Most, Owen Felaris, Jack Bowe, Matt Zinn, Bennett Geissler, Connor Sniadanko, Nate Mitchell, Dugan Smith, John Harlow and Alex Heir.

“The team hasn’t been down that often this year and when they have they don’t give up. They push to the end. Their drive is what has gotten us this far,” Jeansonne said. “These seniors built this program where it needs to be. We’ll keep pushing.”