Boys soccer: Jacobs downs Larkin for third straight regional crown
The Jacobs boys soccer team certainly has the capability of producing a prolific offensive attack.
In Saturday's Class 3A Huntley regional championship game, the Golden Eagles' defense was on display.
Winning its third straight regional crown, No. 4 seed Jacobs blanked fifth seed Larkin 2-0 to advance to the Streamwood sectional. The Eagles (14-6-2) will play Fox Valley Conference foe Crystal Lake South Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Gators knocked off Dundee-Crown 1-0 to win the Rockford Auburn regional championship.
Jacobs limited Larkin's (13-8-2) offense to 3 shots on goal during the 80-minute match and goalkeeper Anthony Riportella made saves on all 3.
"Larkin is a very dangerous attacking team on offense," said Jacobs coach AJ Cappello. "They play very hard and make their presence known. It was a great effort from our defense."
Jacobs, which put 9 shots on goal, finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half with 2:45 left on a penalty kick goal from Colin Walsh, who was tackled in the box.
"Making penalty kicks is all about concentrating and staying loose," said Walsh. "I just picked my spot to shoot it."
Walsh was instrumental in the Golden Eagles' second goal of the game with a perfectly executed corner kick that Austin Snobel headed in to give Jacobs a 2-0 advantage with 30:28 left in regulation time.
"We work a lot on corner kicks in practice and Colin is very good at getting the ball at the perfect angle to head it," said Snobel. "He put it in the perfect spot and I was able to get the goal."
Cappello credited both Walsh and Snobel with a perfectly executed play.
"It was how we drew it up," said Cappello. "It was a great service by Colin and Austin is very good in the air. Austin is underestimated by some teams with his ability to head the ball. It was nice to get the second goal and get a two-goal cushion. It is a lot easier to play with a two-goal lead than a one-goal lead."
With that 2-goal lead, Cappello was able to rest his senior standout Noah Melick for the final 15 minutes of the contest.
"Noah was really laboring out there," said Cappello. "I felt like we could give him a breather with a two-goal lead and reward some other kids with some playing time."
Larkin's best chance to score came with 4:57 left in the game on a 25-yard indirect kick by Pierre Black which hit the crossbar.
Larkin sophomore goalie Jorge Nava kept Larkin close with 7 saves. The Royals' defense held Melick to just 1 shot on goal.
"We did a great job on Melick," said Larkin coach Ken Hall. "He didn't get many touches or opportunities. Jorge played great in the goal and the kids gave a great effort. We had an up and down year. We had some great wins and some tough losses. The seniors will be missed."