Jacobs stands on Grady’s first-half strike

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

ALGONQUIN – The angle was a little strange, and Lauren Grady had no idea what to expect when she launched a shot from the far right side of Jacobs’ soccer field on Thursday.

Maybe the breeze carried it a little, but the Jacobs junior midfielder was amazed that the shot sailed past McHenry keeper Erica Patterson and settled into the left corner to give the Golden Eagles a two-goal advantage with 7 minutes left in the first half.

The match was delayed 5 minutes later because of lightning, breaking the rhythm of both teams, and McHenry took control late in the second half and scored.

So between the recess and the Warriors’ pressure, Grady was all the more grateful her awkward shot had bent just enough to stand up for a 2-1 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory against the Warriors.

“It was such a weird angle, and those kind of shots usually just go to the far post so I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Grady said. “I just saw an open goal.”

The Eagles (16-5 overall, 7-1 FVC) had pressured the Warriors (10-8, 6-4) from the match’s outset. Jacobs took seven shots on goal and two that went just wide of the posts, and Patterson turned them away five times before Jacobs junior Erin Flores broke the scoreless tie.

Flores received a pass from sophomore Mel Duda and shot from the right post, but Patterson blocked it. Flores scored on the rebound to give Jacobs a 1-0 cushion with 12:15 left in the first half.

“We came out all right in the beginning,” Jacobs coach A.J. Cappello said. “In the second half I thought we were a little flat, but I thought we played really well for about 72 minutes.”

McHenry threatened throughout the second half despite the Eagles outshooting the Warriors 8-6. Junior forward Molly Machometa had chances on three breakaways, Jacobs senior keeper Monica Orjuela was able to nix each opportunity.

Junior Alyssa Kennedy scored McHenry’s goal with 4:26 left to play off a pass from Machometa. Kennedy took a long shot from the right side that went into the left corner.

Two McHenry mistakes that led to both of Jacobs’ goals sullied an otherwise good outing, McHenry coach Jim Nelson said.

“We can’t give teams opportunities inside the [final third] like that,” he said. “They’re going to take advantage of them, which is exactly what happened. The second half was definitely better.

“We are still improving but overall it was definitely a step in the right direction.”