Boys soccer: Jacobs, Hampshire advance to FVC title match

Jacobs freshman midfielder Eduardo Nava gathered the ball at the top of the goal box and ripped a hard shot that eluded Prairie Ridge goalkeeper Daniel Llanquiman in the 63rd minute.

Nava, who had scored earlier, could not help himself. He stopped for a moment and did a little salsa dance.

"It came out of nowhere," Nava said. "I was just so excited."

Nava was not the only Golden Eagle who felt like celebrating at that point. With a three-goal lead, Jacobs was well on its way to the Fox Valley Conference Boys Soccer Tournament championship match.

Prairie Ridge scored in the 73rd minute and put on some late pressure, but it was not enough as the Eagles won, 3-1, in their semifinal Thursday night.

Top-seeded Jacobs (12-0-1) hosts No. 2 Hampshire at 6:30 p.m. Friday for the championship. No. 4 Prairie Ridge (5-4-2) will play at No. 3 Huntley at 3:30 p.m. Friday for third place. Hampshire beat Huntley, 1-0, in overtime in the other semifinal.

Jacobs advanced to the Class 3A supersectional round last season before being knocked out. The Eagles won the FVC regular season and now, with no IHSA postseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are trying to finish things off with the tournament title.

"It's a statement win tonight and hopefully tomorrow we can get another statement win," said forward Liam Armstrong, who set up Nava's first goal and scored one of his own. "It's a testament to how good this program is and how special it is. To be able to call ourselves the only undefeated team (in the FVC) if we win the tournament, that's something special. That's something that'll stay with me for a while."

Jacobs coach Colin Brice urged his team at halftime to stick with the plan.

"It was just a matter of time," Brice said. "We told them to continue what we want to do, it's going to come. (Prairie Ridge) had a game plan and stuck to it and made it really difficult for us to score goals."