Jacobs gets Pepsi win over Warren
Lauren and Shannon Grady have certainly had no trouble fitting into the Jacobs girls soccer program.
The Grady sisters, who transferred from Marian Central, scored all 3 goals as the Golden Eagles defeated Warren 3-1 in an opening round game of the Pepsi Showdown in Algonquin Tuesday night.
Shannon Grady scored 2 goals while Lauren Grady added a goal and an assist for the winners.
“The team has made us feel welcome right from the beginning,” said Shannon Grady. “They were very friendly and there hasn’t been any problems. Tonight was a good game for us. We showed who was boss right away and came out aggressive.”
Jacobs (8-2) advance to the second round of the tournament and will play at fifth-seeded Lyons Township Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Warren (0-4), which moves to the consolation bracket, will play Thursday against an undetermined opponent.
The Golden Eagles set the aggressive tone early. With only 1:38 elapsed in the match, Shannon Grady scored her first goal of the night off a nice touch pass from Mel Duda to give the Golden Eagles an early advantage.
Shannon Grady scored her second goal of the night off a pass from sister Lauren with 22:34 left in the first half to make the score 2-0.
The Golden Eagles took a 3-0 lead when Lauren Grady scored an unassisted goal with 4:31 left in the half. That was the score at halftime.
“The Gradys have certainly fit right into the program,” said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. “They feed off each other and play well together. We came out strong and were very aggressive. We are turning into a cohesive unit and are playing well together.”
The second half was scoreless until Warren’s Kelly Ditmars scored an unassisted goal with 1:12 left in the match.
“We challenged the kids at halftime and the kids stepped up and played a good second half,” said Warren coach Jeff Knouse. “I was very pleased with the effort and we were more consistent. We played hard and we won the 50-50 balls. That early goal by Jacobs deflated us, but the girls didn’t give up.’’
Jacobs outshot Warren 15-7.
Monica Orjuela (2 saves) and Megan Minogue (1 save) split duties in the net for Jacobs. Amanda Macuiba registered 8 saves for the Blue Devils.