ROCHELLE — Sometimes the biggest difference in a soccer game can be whether or not you have the wind at your back.
That proved to be the case for the Lady Hubs varsity team when the girls took the field to face Mendota in nonconference action on a blistery Thursday afternoon at Rochelle Township High School. After fighting through the wind to a 0-0 tie in the first half, the purple and white took advantage of the gusty conditions in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals en route to a 3-0 victory over the Lady Trojans for win No. 1 on the season.
“The wind definitely had an impact on the game,” head coach Chris Blevins said. “When Mendota chose to take the south end of the field with the wind at its back we had to make sure our defense and our midfielders were staying back… Having the wind at our back in the second half helped because we were able to make longer kicks and their keeper was having a hard time getting the ball out of their zone.”
The Lady Hubs (1-1 overall) entered Thursday’s contest seeking their first win of the year after falling in a tough battle to Oregon on Wednesday by a score of 1-0. Neither Rochelle nor Mendota could find the net after 60 minutes of play, but the Lady Hubs took the lead after sophomore Keelyn Sarmiento (61’) connected off a pass by senior Ashley Kerns for the team’s first goal of the season. It was a welcome sight for Blevins, who said that Sarmiento spent most of last season on the bench as a freshman.

“She’s got some soccer experience and her game has improved from last year,” he said. “She told some of the younger girls that she had to do most of the ball chasing last year, but she’s getting more work on the field this year and it was really exciting to see her out there executing.”
After Sarmiento put Rochelle up 1-0, it was sophomore forward Gillian Higby’s turn to get in on the action. Higby broke free through the middle to score her first goal of the year (69’) off Kerns’ second assist of the afternoon to make it a 2-0 contest, and just one minute later Higby cashed in again (70’) to increase the Lady Hubs’ lead to 3-0, this time off a pass by senior Abby Kerns.
“[Gillian] had some chances in the first half and she’s been making her runs at the net,” Blevins said. “She was there when she needed to be… It was very rewarding to see those balls go in.”
With a comfortable lead, the purple and white held off the Mendota attack for the rest of the game behind another strong effort by defenders Celeste Almaraz, Olivia Piloni, Abby Kerns and Nancy Torres. Sophomore keeper Holli Drew followed up a four-save performance against Oregon with four more saves on Thursday along with her first shutout of the season.
“They’re our veterans and most of them have played up front over the past few years,” Blevins said. “Now they’re getting a taste of what it’s like to be in the back and they’re working hard and staying consistent. The skills they’ve learned up front are coming into play in the back and those girls are definitely our rocks back there.”
Rochelle will travel to Streator on Tuesday for a nonconference game against the Bulldogs before returning to RTHS on Wednesday for its first Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference game against the Yorkville Lady Foxes. Both games are scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m.