ROCHELLE — The Hubs varsity soccer team showed no signs of slowing down when the Ottawa Pirates came to town on Tuesday for a Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference clash.

Rochelle took an early lead after goals by sophomores Max Torres (30’) and Austin Brown (39’), and the Hubs remained dominant in the second half, adding three more goals while recording their third shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory over the Pirates.

“We feel confident in ourselves and this conference win was a big step forward for our season,” senior Jesus Nava said. “Our young talent is stepping up, and with Komla [Gati] and I being the only two seniors, I feel like our younger players want to prove what they can do.”

Freshman Brayan Orozco (48’) scored on a pass by Torres to give the Hubs a 3-0 advantage in the second half, and freshman Juan Cincire connected with junior Jessee Infante (50’) two minutes later to help Rochelle go up 4-0. The Hubs recorded 39 shots in the win, with 21 of those shots going on goal.

Junior Juan Montemayor found Infante (67’) for Rochelle’s final goal of the evening. The Hubs assisted on all five goals in the game, and while the Rochelle defense has kept opponents at bay, the team’s midfielders have played a significant role in its strong start to the season.

“It’s not just our defense,” said Nava, who assisted on Brown’s goal in the first half. “Our midfielders have been helping a lot. Our defense does a good job of communicating, and we’ve played with each other for a couple of years… Communication is a big part of our success, and our coaches tell us that the first goal is the most important goal for us.”

Rochelle (6-1, 1-0 NIB-12 West) will face LaSalle-Peru on the road Thursday evening before returning home for another conference battle against the Geneseo Maple Leafs.