Jasiewicz, Troy catch fire in second half to beat Royal Oak in district semifinal – The Oakland Press

Troy's Olivia Jasiewicz (R) looks to control possession as Royal Oak's Jordan Hills defends during the Division 1 district semifinal played Tuesday night at Birmingham Seaholm. Jasiewicz scored three goals to help the Colts win 5-0 and advance to Thursday's final against Troy Athens. (KEN SWART – For the MediaNews group)

BIRMINGHAM – The Troy Colts exploded for five second-half goals to beat the Royal Oak Ravens 5-0 in the Division 1 district semifinals Tuesday night in Seaholm.

With a scoreless game to start the second half, the Colts got things moving quickly. Specifically, Troy's Olivia Jasiewicz warmed up. She deflected a ball off a Jenna Taylor corner to give Troy a 1-0 lead with 32:19 left in the game. Just 94 seconds later, Jasiewicz deflected in an Ava Fleming cross to make it 2-0. It took the air out of Royal Oak, and the Colts then largely managed to dominate the second half.

“Once we scored, things started to open up even more for us. But we have to play better early in the game,” Troy head coach Dan Troccoli said. “We are a much better team than what we saw in the first half, and that showed in the second half.”

Photo gallery of Royal Oak vs. Troy in the D1 girls soccer district semifinal

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Jasiewicz would complete her hat trick with 22:57 left – giving her three goals in just over nine minutes – and Janie Lennon and Brynn Zawislak would add late goals to provide the final margin.

But the match was much closer than the final score would indicate. The teams traded offensive chances early on, with each team coming close within the first 10 minutes. Even as the teams settled into the game and the Colts began to possess more, the Royal Oak defense kept the Colts at bay and goalkeeper Hannah Spring was excellent when called upon to keep the game going. goal throughout the first half.

“Our whole game plan was just to play, play our game and let them get in their heads a little bit, which seemed to work, at least for the first half,” the head coach said of Royal Oak, Melissa VanGorden. “I think we definitely held our own.”

Once the Colts figured out the Ravens' defensive tactics, Troy began creating more high-quality shots and generating better pressure, which led to goals.

“We've had a slow start and we can't continue like this,” Troccoli said. “We have to come out a lot faster and we have to come out a lot more aggressive. This will be the difference in the future. But they know, so we'll work on it tomorrow.

With the win, Troy (12-1-3) advances to the district final Thursday, where it will face Troy Athens, which won the second semifinal of the night.