Jacobs blanks Larkin in regional opener
Lauren Grady is trying to make up for lost time.
Missing 10 games due to an hamstring injury, Grady’s injury seems to be fully healed.
Scoring 3 goals, Grady led top-seeded Jacobs to a 5-0 win over fourth-seeded Larkin in semifinal action in the Class 3A Jacobs regional Tuesday in Algonquin.
“I was really fired up for this game and wanted to make an impact tonight,” said Grady. “As a team we were fired up and wanted to come out strong. It was a good way to start the playoffs. We want to go as far as we can.”
Jacobs (14-9-3) advance to Friday’s regional championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday’s second game between No. 2 seed Crystal Lake South and No. 3 Dundee-Crown was postponed because of lightning. The game will be played today at 4:30 p.m.
Totally dominating Larkin (3-15-2), Jacobs outshot the Royals 29-1. Aiding Lauren Grady offensively, Kelly Grady and Molly Leopold also scored goals. Catie Sherman, Kylie Dennison and Margaret Rivera had assists.
Misfiring on its first 18 shots, Jacobs finally scored off Larkin goalie Alajandro Villgomez when Lauren Grady scored her first goal of the night off an assist by Catie Sherman with 7:55 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles scored once more before the half when Lauren Grady tallied an unassisted goal with 4:15 remaining before intermission to make the score 2-0 after 40 minutes.
Lauren Grady, Kelly Grady and Leopold scored goals in the second half for the winners.
“It has been a hard season for Lauren so it was nice to see her have a big night,” said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. “As a team we didn’t play with enough of an edge. We played OK. We got plenty of shots on goal, but we didn’t get enough quality looks and quality shots. We weren’t as assertive and dynamic as we wanted to be offensively. We will have to play better Friday.”
Larkin’s goalkeepers, Villagomez and Diana Hernandez, were solid in the nets. Villagomez, playing the first half, registered 12 saves, while Hernandez had 5 saves during the final 40 minutes of the game.
“Our goalkeeping has kept us in most games this season,” said Larkin coach Ken Hall. “Our defense gave them way too many easy shots.”