Jacobs makes sure of win over Hampshire

Cassidy Sherman couldn’t tell if Catie Sherman’s corner kick was going in. So she made sure.

Cassidy Sherman tapped in the corner kick from Catie Sherman at the far post with 13:13 remaining in the match as Jacobs beat Hampshire, 2-1, in a Fox Valley Conference crossover girls soccer match in Algonquin Tuesday afternoon.

“It might have gone in if I didn’t touch it. I wanted to make sure,” said Cassiday Sherman, a senior. “I usually go middle, but it was a floater (to the back post).”

The Golden Eagles (9-4-2) controlled most of the play. They had 10 shots on goal compared to just three for the Whip-Purs.

Jacobs took the lead with 24:50 left in the first half. Lauren Grady had the ball near the end line and dribbled past a couple of Hampshire defenders. Her shot was over the head of Whip-Purs goalkeeper Haylee Moscato and glanced off a defender’s head before hitting the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Whip-Purs (6-5-3) tied the game with just 43.3 seconds remaining before halftime. Natalie Starrenburg’s cross was headed in from inside the 6-yard box by Paige Palubicki.

“We’re trying to create opportunities where the percentages are higher,” Whip-Purs coach Pat O’Brien said. “We’ve been pretty successful in that. Our goal rate has been going up.”

Jacobs really began to put pressure on the Hampshire defense midway through the second half, but its shots were missing the target or stopped by Moscato, who finished with 7 saves, until Cassidy Sherman put the Golden Eagles up for good.

The Whip-Purs had an opportunity with 1:25 remaining in the game, but a bad touch allowed Jacobs goalkeeper Alyssa Koeppler to get possession long enough for the referee to call a foul as she was losing control of the ball with a Hampshire player right there ready to tie the match.

“I think we played pretty well up and down the field, just in the final thirds we have be a little sharper,” Golden Eagles coach AJ Cappello said. “We have to tighten up on the back end and have a little more will to score on the offensive end.”