Written by Russ Hodges, Sports Editor
ROCHELLE โ The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity soccer team recognized six senior members Thursday night as the purple and white teams played against the Duchess of Dixon.
In a hard-fought game that featured a lightning-fast 30-minute delay in the second half, Rochelle pulled off a last-minute rally with a goal from junior midfielder Emma Kenney in the 76th minute, leading the Lady Habs to the Duchess' We came close to being in first place. They led 1-0 at halftime and added their second goal midway through the second half. However, the Lady Habs fell short, losing 2-1 in their penultimate home game of the season.
Rochelle (2-17, 0-10 Interstate 8) was joined by Haley Bozinovic, Dalila Garcia, Carla Martinez, Sydney Thorne, Danica Ward and coach Samantha during Thursday night's postgame ceremony. Six seniors, including Thorne, were recognized. The Lady Habs host Oregon State on Saturday and conclude the regular season with a road match at Pecatonica on Tuesday night.
“It's always nice to recognize our seniors and the effort they've put in,” head coach Brad Mehl said. “It's a bittersweet day, but the seniors have worked hard this year, so I'm hopeful that we can win a game or two. I think we continue to improve our defensive line, and we played a tough defense today. We have a lot of young players and our goal is to continue to grow. I think we learned a lot as a team this season.”
Dixon held the ball in the Rochelle zone for most of the game. The Duchess scored the first goal in the 25th minute when Dixon players invaded Rochelle's penalty area and fired multiple shots on goal, one of which rolled into the back of the goal. The Lady Habs were plagued by injuries throughout the game, as junior defenders Betty Flores and Anahi Cervantes were ejected midway through the first half, and Flores did not return for the rest of the game.
Despite her injuries, Rochelle struggled to keep the Duchess within range. The 1-0 match lasted until the 55th minute, when both teams were sent off the field due to a thunderous delay. The match resumed approximately 30 minutes later, and in the 66th minute, Dixon fired a shot from close range that went over the head of Rochelle goalkeeper Ward and into the net.
The Lady Habs opened the scoring in the 76th minute when junior midfielder Makayla Lara took a long-range shot on goal, but it deflected off Dixon's goaltender's hands and rolled directly to Kenney, who pushed the ball into the net. It was Rochelle's first goal. game. However, the Lady Habs were unable to score the tying goal as Dixon kept up the pressure in the final minutes.