Boys soccer: Jacobs unbeaten in FVC after blanking Huntley

Swarming, aggressive and productive.

All those words aptly describe Jacobs' offensive effort in a 2-0 victory over host Huntley in Fox Valley Conference boys soccer action Thursday night.

The Golden Eagles set the tone early with a goal by Max McGregor, assisted by Gabe Swarthout, with only 2:34 elapsed in the match.

"I was a little nervous at the beginning of the game so the early goal was important for us," said McGregor. "I got good positioning and got a good shot off. It was important to set the tempo on the road against a very good Huntley team."

Jacobs coach AJ Cappello liked his team's intensity and aggressiveness early in the match.

"I just want to start matches playing aggressive and getting shots on goal," said the Jacobs coach. "If we are playing well the first 10 to 15 minutes of a match I feel we are in very good shape. Scoring a goal early was a bonus."

The Golden Eagles (7-3-3, 3-0) managed 5 shots on goal in the first half, but could score only the early tally by McGregor.

Jacobs utilized the same formula to start the second half. With only 1:45 gone, the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 2-0 on a header by Noah Melick off a nice crossing pass from Daniel Buirge.

"Coach stressed to us at halftime to come out aggressive in the second half like we did in the first half," said Melick. "It was so important to score early and get a 2-goal lead. A 2-goal lead in a game like this is a dangerous lead. We had some chances to get a third goal, but just couldn't get the ball in the net. This is a big conference win on the road."

Jacobs outshot Huntley (7-4, 1-1) 10-3 in the contest.

"We were very lazy in pregame and we set the tone for the game," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner, "I knew before hand we weren't ready to play. To Jacobs' credit, they were ready to play for 80 minutes and totally outplayed us, The key thing now is how we bounce back. We need a good practice tomorrow and then we need to play well over the weekend."

Ethan Pickering collected 3 saves for the winners while Michael Parks garnered 8 saves for the Red Raiders.

"We played some of the best teams in the state early in the season and struggled," said Cappello. "We are executing on defense and offense and are playing a well managed, mature game."