STERLING — The Hubs varsity soccer team doesn’t play on turf very often, and the Rochelle boys had a tough time adjusting to the faster field conditions during their conference game against the Sterling Golden Warriors on Tuesday.

Rochelle held off a talented Sterling offense for most of the first half, but the Hubs fell behind after two quick goals by David Sanchez (24’) and Adrian Herrera (27’) put the Golden Warriors ahead 2-0. Junior Jessee Infante brought Rochelle within one with a goal early in the second half (44’), but the Hubs couldn’t find enough rhythm to take Sterling down, falling by a final score of 4-1.

“It’s a learning curve,” head coach Brad Male said. “We’re a little disadvantaged figuring out how the ball moves on the turf and it takes some getting used to. It’s a little tough at the beginning, and they were able to get behind us early by moving the ball really well.”

The Hubs (7-4, 2-2 NIB-12 West) had plenty of chances to score early in the game, with Infante and freshman striker Brayan Orozco, who assisted on Infante’s goal, putting pressure on the Sterling defense. But the Rochelle shots were finishing wide of the net, and the Hubs couldn’t quite nail down their timing on through balls due to the faster speed of the turf.

The Golden Warriors, however, mastered the middle of the field in Tuesday’s game. Sterling utilized its quick passing to efficiently move the ball inside Rochelle territory, and the Golden Warriors cashed in on a higher percentage of their shots on goal.

“They have the short-sided game perfected on a surface like this,” Male said. “We need to communicate better and I thought that was the key for us tonight. We lacked in that department.”

With senior forward Komla Gati injured, the Hubs called on a trio of freshmen including Zane Walters, Juan Cincire and Josh Hurtado to fill the void up front. The Golden Warriors were no easy task, though, and Sterling’s physical defensive presence made things difficult for Rochelle’s smaller attackers. Adrian Gallardo netted two goals in the second half (52’ and 62’) to seal the Sterling victory.

The Hubs have battled a pair of physical opponents in recent games (Geneseo and Kaneland), and with nearly every remaining opponent holding a positive record including Hinckley-Big Rock, the school Rochelle plays on Saturday, the boys will need to play beyond their years moving forward.

“They just need playing time,” Male said. “They need to get used to their teammates and that will come with time… The teams we play continue to get better throughout the season and we can’t overlook any team.”