LASALLE ­­­­­­— Komla Gati had been quiet through the Hubs varsity soccer team’s first seven games this season, but the senior forward found his scoring rhythm when Rochelle faced the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers on the road Thursday evening.

With the game tied 1-1 early in the second half, Gati buried a pass from freshman Brayan Orozco in the back of the LaSalle-Peru net (44’) to give Rochelle the lead. Junior Adolfo Flores connected with Gati for his second goal of the game soon after (49’), and the Hubs hung on late to beat the Cavaliers by a final score of 4-3.

“It feels good,” Gati said. “We have a young team, but we won our first two conference games and now we have to come back next week and play tougher… I was struggling with my shot earlier in the season, but it meant a lot to see those two shots go in tonight.”

Rochelle (7-1, 2-0 NIB-12 West) entered Thursday’s game looking to build momentum after defeating the Ottawa Pirates 5-0 on Tuesday. Orozco scored off a pass by junior Jessee Infante (21’) to put the Hubs ahead in the first half, but the Cavaliers responded quickly when Daniel Aguilar (24’) netted the first of his game-high three goals to equalize the score. 

“This was one of the toughest road games we’ve played so far,” head coach Brad Male said. “They were fast on the back end, and we had a few breakdowns where they got behind us.”

Both defenses shined in the first half, but the Cavaliers began to unravel early in the second half. Orozco gave the Hubs a 3-1 lead when he cashed in on Flores’ second assist of the game (47’), and Gati’s second goal put Rochelle ahead 4-1 before Aguilar stopped the bleeding with his second score of the contest (51’).

“I think Komla picked his head up today and he scored when we needed him to,” Male said. “Brayan’s definitely an asset to our team. He’s a smart player and we look for him on offense. He makes things happen out there and he has a really good mindset.”

Rochelle and LaSalle-Peru went nearly 30 minutes without scoring before Aguilar’s third goal (75’) put the Cavalier offense into overdrive. The Hubs fought hard to protect their one-goal lead as the final minutes ticked away, with junior keeper Mason DeLille recording a pair of key saves to keep LaSalle-Peru at bay. DeLille finished with six saves in the victory.

Rochelle extended its winning streak to three games, and the Hubs will try to match their season-high streak of four games when the boys host Geneseo on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Rochelle split its season series with the Maple Leafs last year, but the players are aiming to keep their strong start going.

“We have to keep playing tough and we have to keep playing our style of always attacking hard,” Gati said.