Northlake Christian School shutout Pope John Paul II, 2-0, Friday afternoon in a district match at PJP.

The Wolverines (8-2-3) are 1-0 in district play, while the Jaguars (7-4-2) are 1-2 in district competition.

NCS spent much of the first half with the ball in its offensive zone, but the Jaguars’ defense was stingy. The Wolverines had chances to tally. They kept PJP on defense and limited the Jaguars’ scoring opportunities.

Northlake Christian School'€™s Zak Smith (2) dribbles upfield as Pope John Paul II'€™s Andro Cutura (13) battles on defense during Friday afternoon'€™s game at PJP. (Staff Photo by Chris Kinkaid)

The Wolverines kept shooting and working the offensive end. Finally, in the 29th minute, the work paid off as NCS got on the board. Kevin Pence sent a pass to Zak Smith, who put the ball in the upper left corner of the goal past PJP keeper Tommy Gritten.

Smith said he got the ball when Pence rolled it to him. He talked about the kick.

“It felt good. I kept my good form, it felt good when it came off my foot and when I hit it, I knew it was going in,” Smith said.

NCS coach Nick Chetta said the goal came off a free kick.

“We took it quick. We caught them off-guard. We played a short free-kick that was about 30-yards out, a short 5-yard pass and Zack turned and hit a brilliant shot upper 90 (upper left corner),” Chetta said. “I don’t know if he could do it again, but world-class.”

The scored remained 1-0 through halftime.

In the second half, NCS continued to work the offensive zone, but PJP’s defense continued to play tough.

Daniel Haar had a shot, but he sent it over the goal in the 48th minute. Tyler Ballay had a chance go wide left in the 51st minute. Pence took a shot that was blocked by PJP’s Drew Harding.

NCS’ second-half goal came in the 57th minute when Pence was awarded a penalty shot. He nailed it pretty much right down the middle.

PJP continued to battle. The Jaguars came up empty on a corner kick during the 64th minute.

NCS goalkeeper Jeffrey George got the shutout and NCS named Mallery Mele its top defender.

Pope John Paul II’s top defender was Harding.

Jaguars’ coach Jack Mills talked about the match.

“We played the way we should’ve played. We haven’t practiced in a week and we have a long way to go,” Mills said.

He added that his squad wasn’t ready to play.