Jacobs blanks Dundee-Crown

Chris Rigby and the Jacobs soccer team will forever remember the night they upset District 300 rival Dundee-Crown to conclude the 2014 regular season in Algonquin Tuesday.

Not because it was senior night and for bragging rights, as the Golden Eagles downed the Chargers 1-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division finale but because they did so in downright ugly conditions: a heavy rain from start to finish which saturated the field, chilly temperatures in the low 50s and a biting north wind blowing in excess of 20 mph.

"For the players these are the best days to play on, these our the memories for the players, these are games I remember the most," Jacobs coach AJ Cappello said. "On days like these it's usually the hardest working team, sometimes it takes a little bit of luck and you've got to put yourself in good spots."

That spot came in the 44th minute for Jacobs (5-15-1, 2-3) on a free kick by Rigby near midfield. The junior forward-mid launched a liner down the middle of the field and figured he could get a curve on a bounce. Instead, the slick ball got through the hands of D-C goalkeeper Jose Gonzalez (4 saves) and the goal held up even with a Dundee-Crown surge late with 3 shots on goal in the final 10 minutes.

"You have to capitalize on your chances. It just worked out perfect for us," said Rigby, who scored his fifth goal. "These are the nights you live for and this is the best thing ever. It's just awesome"

But not so much for the Chargers (12-8-1, 2-3), who have lost 3-straight. D-C held an 8-4 shot advantage throughout despite the sloppiness of the field but lost the edge in free kicks 10-5. If Jacobs second half goalkeeper Eduardo Guimaray doesn't make 2 saves (5 total) at the 10:40 mark of the second half it may be a different story as the field conditions played a huge factor.

"The weather just (didn't) quit. I don't have words for it. Just a sloppy game," D-C coach Rey Vargas said. "We had opportunities to put the ball in the net and we just couldn't get it quite there. We get two goals called back, that certainly doesn't help. The inconsistency of calls didn't help either."

One goal was taken off the board for D-C due to an offsides with 17:58 left in the first half after Freddy Martinez cashed in on a Ivan Sanchez corner.

"We've needed a win for a while this season, we've been close all year," Cappello said. "We've just need to mentally relax and realize what you can do."