ROYAL OAK >> A regional semifinal decided by just one goal scored wasn’t exactly what Royal Oak Shrine head coach Mark Soma expected.

“No, but it is what it is,” Soma said. “I’ve told the boys the last couple weeks that 1-0 is all that matters.”

The third-ranked Knights won by that score line Tuesday night on their home field against Jackson Christian Academy, who had only been blanked one other time all season coming into the evening.

“We’ve only had nine scored against us all year, so it says something about our team and our defense,” Soma said. “I think we probably should have had more opportunities than we did, a few more chances on net, but we’ll take the 1-0.”

It turned out the only opportunity necessary for Shrine (14-1-3) to advance came just under two minutes into the second half as junior Caden Whitbeck, who found the back of the net a handful of times in the district opener, drove a shot across his body to the right of the Royals’ goalkeeper and in.

“The opportunity was nice,” Whitbeck said. “I got a comeback pass from my teammate, it got deflected, and then I volleyed it into the top-left corner. As soon as I hit it, I saw it curling right into the net.”

After moving the ball at a better rate in the 2-0 district championship victory over Roeper last Thursday, Soma felt the pace needed to be better than it was in the first 40 minutes against the Royals. “In the second half, it improved, but the speed, we were a little nervous I think in the first half,” he said.

When a several efforts by Shrine flew a bit off the mark that could have doubled the advantage, it became clear that locking in defensively to hold on would be what it takes to move on, and that’s what the Knights did.

Jackson Christian (16-4-1) won several free kicks in the final 10 minutes, but Shrine proved itself game to put out all fires, including one from Royals sophomore Drew Barney that was chipped into the box and headed away from the danger area by senior Thomas Jablonski.

Shrine began the year with a 13-match run that included 11 wins and a pair of draws before closing the regular season with a 1-1 tie to Hillsdale Academy, the only other team to hold the Royals scoreless this year, and a CHSL Cardinal Championship defeat to Detroit Cristo Rey, the No. 1 team in D4. But those last few matches which coincided with widespread illness throughout the Knights and left them shorthanded in a few games turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise.

“Actually, it probably helped us,” Soma said. “Some of the people that were fringe players got minutes and some confidence, and now, we may not be subbing five guys, but we have the confidence to do it if we really need to.”

Soma gave his thoughts about avoiding Cristo Rey in the regional final. The Wolves, playing in the first semifinal of the night at Shrine, made a costly early mistake that led to a red card that they couldn’t overcome and resulted in a 2-1 defeat to Plymouth Christian, who the Knights will now take on Thursday evening.

“Uh, yeah, I’m not real disappointed,” Soma said, laughing. “I think the boys maybe are a little happy. I think the pace will probably suit us a little better with Plymouth Christian. They pass the ball around pretty well and they’re good soccer players, but if we can play at the pace we have been the last couple weeks, we should be OK.”