Jacobs, Radnor move on after vanquishing Villa
RADNOR — With 10 minutes to play in a win-or-go-home District 1 semifinal Tuesday night, there weren’t many freshmen on the field at Radnor. Even for veterans, the pressure of the moment weighed heavy.
And for Radnor freshman forward Olivia Jacobs?
“I love it,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m really happy I got to play.”
Jacobs made the most of it, scoring the only goal of the game in the 71st minute to send Radnor to a 1-0 victory over Villa Maria in the District 1 Class 3A tournament.
The win sends Radnor (16-4) to Thursday’s final against perennial power Villa Joseph Marie, the No. 2 seed that survived Upper Perkiomen, 3-2. Kickoff at Strath Haven is at 5 p.m. The top seed in the district tournament also qualifies for states for the first time since 2000.
Jacobs supplied the only goal with a bit of patience and nerve. Jane Daiutolo played a perfect ball to split the center backs and give Jacobs a chance to beat them with pace. Jacobs took a touch, shot into the gap in the Villa defense, got a step and fired home on her left foot low and hard across the grain.
“I was out wide and I saw these two defenders and they were flat,” Jacobs said. “I saw Jane had the ball and I was like, ‘Jane, play me through.’ There was like a little spot that I could go through. And so right when she played that ball, there was a defender that was about to get it, but I took a touch around and then it was just 1-v-1 against the goalie.”
“I’m so unbelievably proud of her,” Emily Daiutolo said. “She’s been working so hard all season and I could not be more proud of her.”
Jacobs’ run cashed in the Raptors’ biggest advantage. Throughout the game, the Daiutolo sisters pinged balls at will at the defense. More often than not, despite the speed of Ivy Chaskelson up front and the shiftiness and technique of Selah Koleth on the left wing, Villa was equal to the task.
But all it took was one connection to make up for all the near-misses.
“I think it increases our drive a lot because everyone in their head is like, we’re right there, just one more, just one more,” Emily Daiutolo said. “Eventually, if we keep shooting, one’s going to go in.”
It took four saves, two of them stupendous, from Villa Maria goalie Maddie Catania in the first 12 minutes to keep the teams on level terms. Koleth danced past a defender and sent in Edy McKenzie in the 10th minute, but Catania sprawled to keep her shot out. Two minutes later, she leapt to turn away a Chaskelson drive after Emily Daiutolo dialed up the perfect weight on a line-splitting ball.
“We knew they were going to come out strong, like revenge almost,” said Catania, who made six saves. “They had a lot of grit going into the game. We were ready for it off the jump. We blinked and they scored.”
Villa (14-6) had beaten Radnor, 2-1, on Oct. 9. That prepared the Raptors for the counter-attacking prowess of the Hurricanes. In the rematch, central midfielders Emily Daiutolo and Kate Boujoukos made sure Radnor stayed on the front foot, possessing high up the pitch and dictating terms. Villa’s only shot on target came in the 66th, Peyton Coron leaning back from 30 yards out on an attempt easily gloved by Mallory Toomey.
Even in the dying moments, again with Jacobs on the pitch, Radnor bled the block, patient on the ball and astute in running into space. The reward for seniors like the Daiutolos is at least two more games as a group.
“It means the world to me,” Emily said. “We worked so hard and I’m not ready for the season to be over.”
