ELLISVILLE – A furious rally over the game's final 13 minutes saw Jones erase a big deficit before coming up just short, 3-2, in a rematch of last year's NJCAA Region 23 championship game.

Jones fell to 4-4 on the season while 15th-ranked LSU Eunice stayed unbeaten at 6-0-1.

Samaris Alvarado put LSUE on the board in the 10th minute and the visitors never looked back. 

Jones' best chance to tie things up came in the 27th minute when Esmeralda Figueroa hit the crossbar.

Tilly Deacon and Abbie Watson added goals in less than a two-minute span early in the second half as the Lady Bengal lead grew to 3-0.

With the game winding down, Jones got new life on Anna Grace Gieger's goal in the 77th minute when she stole the ball in LSUE territory and fired it home. Rachel Barnaby scored in the 82nd minute to pull within 3-2 on a brilliant effort from 30 yards out.

A persistent attack over the final seven minutes saw good efforts from Figueroa and Barnaby, but the shots went just wide left and were saved by Mariah Scott.

Jones owned a slight 16-13 edge in shots and 4-3 in corners. LSUE drew 12 fouls against Jones' eight and there were two cards in the match.

JC will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., this weekend for a pair of matches on Friday-Saturday against Spartanburg Methodist and No. 8 Daytona State.