Staff photo / Preston Byers The Warren JFK girls soccer team celebrates after Didi Ryan's go-ahead goal vs. Rootstown on Tuesday in Warren.

WARREN — It is difficult, as the saying goes, to beat a team three times in a season. Warren JFK girls soccer coach Kayla Zoccole was well aware of that entering Tuesday’s playoff match against Rootstown, which the Eagles had defeated twice in the last two months.

“We train like it’s any other game, but it is hard as a coach because they do know some of your things, they know your better players,” Zoccole said. “But it’s just trying to find ways around that.”

For most of the match, Zoccole’s team could not find a way around the Rovers. But a penalty kick by star Didi Ryan in the 55th minute gave Kennedy an advantage it kept for the rest of its 1-0 district semifinal victory, the team’s third win against Rootstown in 2024.

Just like the first two wins, it did not come easy for the Eagles, who defeated the Rovers 2-1 on Sept. 9 and 1-0 less than two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, it appeared as if Rootstown had taken the lead in the fifth minute. However, as the Rovers began to celebrate, they realized that the assistant referee had his flag raised in the air, signaling offsides and negating the would-be goal.

The Rovers failed to get any closer to scoring again, unlike JFK, which had chances but struggled to capitalize on them for the entire first half.

With her team in a scoreless tie at halftime, Zoccole pleaded with her players to finish their final home match of the season with a victory and start playing to their potential.

“We were not playing our soccer,” Zoccole said. “We were trying to kick the ball a lot, and we do not do very well with that. So honestly, the first half, our offense did not look very hot, in my opinion.”

JFK’s offense in the second half could hardly be considered hot, but Zoccole noticed improvement, which, most importantly, led to a goal.

After a few near misses at the net and several promising attacks, Kennedy emerged the beneficiary of a Rootstown handball in the penalty box. There was little mystery as to who would take the ensuing penalty shot, and Ryan, who has scored more than 30 goals this season, stepped up and put one past the Rovers’ goalkeeper.

While Rootstown had nearly 26 minutes to equalize, JFK’s defense continued to shut down runs and held off any comeback attempt, securing a 1-0 victory in the process.

The win earned Kennedy a place in the Division V, Northeast 1 district final.

Zoccole, not knowing who would be JFK’s next opponent at the time, said that the exact team and their strengths and weaknesses are not much of a concern, though, and that instead of pouring over scouting reports, she would focus on her own team.

“Sometimes, it is a little bit difficult playing [in the postseason] because you can’t really prepare or know how to prepare,” Zoccole said. “You never know who you’re going to play next. … I try to, as a coach, teach them how to play soccer. And any team that we play, we should be able to beat if we play our game.”

Zoccole hopes that her team plays its game in Saturday’s district title match at Austintown Fitch at 4 p.m. when they face Willoughby Andrews Osborne, which defeated Ashland Mapleton in the other semifinal.

“The last district championship this team won was with a couple of these kids’ older sisters,” Zoccole said. “So I think it would be pretty awesome to see it come a full circle and the siblings that were ball girls win themselves a championship too.”