Jacobs turns the tables on Libertyville

Jacobs’ offensive philosophy was simple.

Score early and often.

Tallying 2 goals during the first 14 minutes of the game, the Golden Eagles were able to post a 2-1 nonconference girls soccer win over Libertyville at Jacobs Saturday afternoon. Last year, Libertyville defeated visiting Jacobs 4-0.

“Last year, we didn’t play well there and missed a lot of scoring opportunities,” said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. “The winds were blowing 30 miles an hour. We didn’t handle the conditions very well at all. We came into the game with a chip on our shoulder. We came out offensively aggressive and got a lot of good scoring opportunities early. We had nice ball movement today and did a lot of sharp things. We entered the season with a lot of expectations and the girls have embraced the expectations. We are progressing well as a team.”

Jacobs (5-3-2) seized control of the game with a goal with only 1:47 elapsed in the game. Catie Sherman, off a perfect feed from Kylie Dennison, blasted a shot past Libertyville goalie Natalee Algozino to give the Golden Eagles the early lead.

The Golden Eagles gained a 2-goal advantage as Dennison scored off a pass from Cassidy Sherman with 26:20 remaining in the first half.

“We came into the game goal hungry,” said Dennison. “We came out aggressive on the offensive end and got a lot of good scoring chances early in the game. We worked well together as a team today.”

After giving up 2 early goals, Algozino (10 saves) blanked the Golden Eagles during the final 66:20 of the contest.

Libertyville (3-4) cut Jacobs’ deficit in half with an unassisted goal by Sam Marsh with 8:55 left in the first half. Jacobs led 2-1 at halftime.

Jacobs’ goalie Emily Thomas, who registered 3 saves in the game, blanked the Wildcats the rest of the game.

The Golden Eagles, who collected the first 10 shots in the game, outshot Libertyville 15-5.

“We haven’t played up to our abilities this season,” said Libertyville coach Scott Schinto. We are very inexperienced and we got off to a very slow start. We pressured them more in the second half and created some more scoring opportunities. Jacobs was more physical than us and they got every loose ball. Jacobs is a quality team and we have yet to beat a good team this season.”