Girls soccer: Cary-Grove shuts out Jacobs to move on

If you want an idea of what the team chemistry is like on the Cary-Grove girls soccer team, look no further than what the Trojans sampled in Friday's Class 3A Jacobs regional final.

Izzy Robinson and Teagan Jones had their imprints all over a 2-0 win for the No. 2 seed Trojans over host Jacobs in Algonquin, and they made their presence felt rather quickly to take home their first regional title since 2015.

Jones sank a penalty shot in the 8th minute after Robinson was tripped up in the box for the de facto game-winner. Then on a rush down the right sideline in the 22nd minute, Jones, with a defender crossing toward her, cut inside and dished it off to a charging Robinson in the box for a goal of her own for added insurance.

Cary-Grove (12-3), which defeated Jacobs 3-0 in a Fox Valley Conference matchup on April 27, will have another FVC rematch in Tuesday's Huntley sectional semifinal against the host Red Raiders, who lost to C-G 1-0 on April 25 but won Friday's Harlem regional over the host Huskies 3-0.

"We knew they were going to come out strong," the senior Robinson said of Jacobs. "We knew they work hard just like they did in the first game so we knew we had to be at our best because they were going to be at theirs."

Jacobs was. But the whole game turned in that aforementioned 8th minute that limited the Golden Eagles thereafter and gave C-G all it needed to dictate the pace, style and possession.

After a collision in the box with Robinson and Jacobs' starting goal keeper, who came out to make a play on the ball, the officials pulled out a red card in favor of the Trojans. Jacobs not only was down 1-0 after Jones sank her kick, but a player down the remaining 72:59. Controversial or not, C-G made the most of the opportunity then and thereafter.

"We responded by continuing to play as a team," C-G coach Ray Krystal said. "Our style of play isn't going to change a whole lot but we're still going to support each other and play the way we've been training all year."

That was evident on Robinson's goal to make it 2-0 and the fact C-G outshot Jacobs 15-5, including 7 shots on goal for Golden Eagle backup goalie Bridget Vrtis, who was peppered but made 4 saves in relief.

"It gave us room to play our style without being too worried to making mistakes," Jones said of the advantage. "Them being a man down the rest of the game, that helped us be able to move the ball around with an extra player."

Jacobs (11-7), which dealt with adversity all season without head coach Stephanie Schuck who left midseason for maternity leave, really had its back against the wall and never really put together any solid opportunities to get back in despite Miranda Malone's 3 saves in net for C-G.

"The girls played with a ton of heart down a player," said Jacobs interim coach Mike Hanely, who received a yellow card early in the second half. "We let one other goal in so in my eyes we only lost by one goal. Putting a backup goalie in on a PK (seven minutes) in, it's hard to play a game starting down a player."