Boys soccer: Jacobs nails down first outright FVC title since 2002

Just enough offense and solid goalkeeping.

That formula produced a 1-0 win for Jacobs over McHenry in Fox Valley Conference boys soccer action in McHenry Thursday afternoon.

The win, coupled with Huntley's loss to Crystal Lake South Thursday, gives the Golden Eagles (7-0) the FVC title outright, it's first outright league title since 2002. Jacobs can make it a clean sweep of conference opponents with a victory at Dundee-Crown Tuesday.

"We lost to McHenry twice last season so this is a great win," said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. "I think we played nervous and were a little over hyped in the first half. We calmed down at halftime and played a very good 40 minutes in the second half. We created some more opportunities and were able to get a win against a very good McHenry team."

In a game that was scoreless for a little over 58 minutes, the Golden Eagles (13-3-4 overall) finally dented the scoreboard on a goal by Colin Walsh off an assist from Gabriel Swarthout with 21:54 left in the contest.

"Great pass which allowed me some space to create a good shot," said Walsh. "The goalie was cheating the front post and I was able to get a good shot on goal. We work on finishing off shots for a half an hour everyday in practice. That work paid off today. This was a great win for us to get (the) conference title."

Jacobs, which outshot McHenry 8-6, received a stellar effort in the nets from senior Ethan Pickering. who collected a shutout with 6 saves.

Pickering's best save of the game came with 27:25 left in the contest. McHenry's Connor Uhl raced past the Eagles' defense and rifled a shot on goal from 10 yards out but Pickering was able to time his leap perfectly and punch the ball over the net.

"I thought punching the ball was the safer way to go," said Pickering, a 3-year starter in goal for Jacobs. "It is some instinct and some strategy.

"McHenry gave us two tough losses last year. This win was huge."

It is nice to get a share of the conference and we want to finish the deal

Cappello praised Pickering's effort.

"Ethan has gotten better every year," said Cappello. "McHenry is a very talented team which created some wonderful chances but Ethan came up big every time."