ROCHELLE — In her four years with the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity soccer program, senior defender and captain Lizbeth Milan said she hasn’t felt more confident in her team than she does right now. That confidence wasn’t misplaced Monday evening, when the Lady Hubs battled through soggy field conditions and cold temperatures during their Interstate 8 opener against the Ottawa Pirates.
Searching for a bounce-back victory after a tough 2-0 loss to Streator this past week, Rochelle continued to show improvement on offense, earning multiple quality chances at the Ottawa net and converting three times during the second half to score a 5-3 victory over the Pirates. Junior midfielder Mavi Avila cashed in two goals for the Lady Hubs, while sophomore Sydney Thorne and senior Madison Ost each added one goal. Milan scored on a free kick that deflected off an Ottawa defender late in the first half.
“I thought we started cleaning up our passes once we adjusted to how the field was playing,” Milan said. “I think this is the best team I’ve played with. We still have some chemistry issues to work through, but a few of our players have previous experience playing outdoor soccer together so they know how to play with each other. We’re really learning how to play with each other and I’m really excited for this season.”
Rochelle (2-4, 1-0 Interstate 8) assisted on four of its goals during the match, with freshman midfielder Makayla Lara dishing out a season-high three assists while sophomore Kara Martinez added one assist. The Lady Hubs outshot the Pirates 33-12 and 18-4 in shots on goal. Sophomore Danica Ward recorded five saves in net for the Lady Hubs, who will face Sycamore on the road Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
“We have a really strong group this year and we each have our own skills that we’re good at,” Avila said. “I think our communication has gotten a lot better up top and we’re moving and looking for open space instead of bunching up. It’s a big confidence booster for us to win, especially when there are multiple girls who score because it makes all of us happy. We all support each other and bring each other up.”
The Lady Hubs struck first, with Lara setting up Ost for Rochelle’s first goal of the match during the 19th minute. Ottawa evened the score with a quick answer during the 23rd minute, but the Lady Hubs regained the lead before halftime after the Pirates committed a foul deep in their own territory during the 36th minute. Off the free kick, Milan booted a right-footed ball through the Pirate defense, with the ball bouncing off the leg of an Ottawa blocker before eventually settling in the back of the net.
“We’ve grown so much since our first match of the season,” Milan said. “It wasn’t our best match today, but we’re constantly learning what works and what doesn’t work and I think we’re good at learning from our mistakes. We’re opening the field up more on offense and we’re making sure that we switch the ball over to the other side more often, especially when the other team’s pushing us to one side of the field.”
Rochelle took a two-score lead early in the second half after Lara found Thorne on a left-footed cross into the Ottawa box for a goal during the 45th minute. After Ottawa bounced back with a goal in the 57th minute, Rochelle responded immediately during the 58th minute, with Martinez using some nifty footwork to juke an Ottawa defender and place a soft pass for Avila to score the first of her two goals.
The Lady Hubs earned their largest lead in the 73th minute, when Lara’s corner kick found Avila for her second goal of the match. Ottawa scored in the 79th minute, but it was too little, too late for the Pirates.
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