Jacobs claims regional title

For Taylor Pignataro, it's been a rollercoaster ride this season.

Pignataro watched his fellow Golden Eagle teammates all season on the bench get to the regional championship without him. The sophomore had to sit out the entire regular season due to a cracked vertebrae in his back. But just days before Jacobs' 4-1 Class 3A boys soccer regional championship win over Crystal Lake South, he was cleared to play, and an eager Pignataro wanted to make his mark.

Pignataro scored the go-ahead goal in the 22nd minute, giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead. He also asssited Mike Wallace on the Eagles' fourth goal, erasing any hardships endured throughout the season.

"I wouldn't change it. We had a really good season this year. Better than last year. It's just like the perfect ending," said Pignataro.

While Pignataro made his return, his teammates were getting the job done as they did all season. After a Cole Edstrom goal 4 minutes into the game that gave South (10-11-1) an early lead, Jacobs scored 4 unanswered goals. Luis Cabral tied the score at 1 during the 17th minute. Then Pignataro's goal, unassisted, put the Eagles (13-7-4) ahead by 1, two minutes into the second half. Wallace then got into the mix, scoring 2 goals only 16 seconds apart, putting it out of reach with 7 minutes remaining.

"I'm glad we didn't win both games in conference because it's so hard to beat a team three times during a season," Jacobs coach Jim Dzialo said. "We knew it was going to be a tough game. They played well when push came to shove. I'm very happy with them.

"We won it last year, and we were real confident we'd come back and do the same thing again. Last year we got to regionals and lost in the next game so we're hoping to go farther this year."

Jacobs will play Round Lake in the Class 3A Boylan sectional semifinal on Tuesday at 5 p.m.