Cary-Grove to play for regional title

Cary-Grove senior goalkeeper Krystal Felderman simply wasn’t going to allow Jacobs to core.

Felderman was that determined.

Including an amazing save with a little over 8 minutes left in the game, Felderman collected 6 saves as second-seeded Cary-Grove posted a 2-0 win over No. 3 Jacobs in semifinal action of the Class 3A Crystal Lake South girls soccer regional Wednesday afternoon.

The Trojans (9-5-1) will tangle with top-seeded and host Crystal Lake South for the regional championship Friday at 4:30 p.m.

With 8:08 left in the game and Cary-Grove nursing a slim 1-0 lead, Jacobs senior forward Payton Berg emerged from in front of the net and blasted a shot on Felderman from 10 yards out. Felderman extended her arm as far she could and punched the ball over the net to preserve Cary-Grove’s lead.

“I just reacted and saw the ball coming at me,” said Felderman. “I just wanted to keep the ball out of the net. “

Cary-Grove coach Ray Krystal expects that type of effort from Felderman.

“She’s that type of goalie,” said Krystal. ‘It was a great save but we knew Jacobs would get some good shots on goal. We just had to weather the storm and we did.”

The Trojans scored first with 19:09 left in the first half. Breaking through the Jacobs (6-12-1) defense, Kate Boyd delivered a perfect pass to Monica Weber who drilled a shot past Jacobs freshman goalie Elizabeth Foster to give Cary-Grove a 1-goal cushion.

Foster, who recorded 6 saves in the game, kept the Trojans off the scoreboard until Boyd scored an unassisted goal with 32 seconds remaining.

Jacobs senior defender Margaret Rivera, who will play at Northern Illinois University next season, had two golden chances to score on free kicks.

With 28:59 left in the first half, Rivera blasted a shot from 30 yards out, but the ball hit the crossbar.

With 19:22 remaining in the game, Rivera rifled a 20-yard free kick but Felderman was able to make the save.

“It was a highly competitive game the whole game,” said Krystal. “It was nice to get the insurance goal at the end to give us a two-goal lead. Our defense was solid and we scored enough.”

Jacobs, which had a goal disallowed in the first half, was much more competitive than it was in May 7th’s 5-1 loss to Cary-Grove.

“The girls worked hard and gave a great effort,” said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. “We could have checked out, but I am very proud of these girls.”