Junior midfielder Adolfo Flores motioned for his Rochelle teammates to clear the left side of the field during the first half of the Hubs varsity soccer team’s nonconference game against the Mendota Trojans.
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ROCHELLE — Junior midfielder Adolfo Flores motioned for his Rochelle teammates to clear the left side of the field during the first half of the Hubs varsity soccer team’s nonconference game against the Mendota Trojans.
Flores was ready to launch a free kick toward the Mendota net, but instead he snuck a right-footed pass to junior forward Jessee Infante, who broke off the wall of Trojan players facing Flores and booted in Rochelle’s first goal of the afternoon. The Hubs added two more goals in the second half while holding Mendota scoreless to win by a final score of 3-0.
“It feels good to win one of our biggest games this week,” Flores said. “Tomorrow and Thursday will be even tougher but I think we’re ready… I told everyone to get on the other side and we knew we wanted to pass it. I think it worked out pretty well for us.”
Rochelle (10-5, 3-2 NIB-12 West) had a tough time fighting through windy conditions in the first half, but the Hubs took advantage of switching sides in the second half, with sophomore Austin Brown scoring off a pass by Infante to give Rochelle a 2-0 lead. Senior forward Komla Gati found freshman striker Brayan Orozco for another Rochelle goal later in the second half to keep Mendota out of reach.
The Trojans weren’t able to ignite much offense in the first half, and Mendota struggled to clear the ball out of its zone in the second half. Much of that credit goes to the Rochelle defense, which kept the Trojans out of scoring position for nearly the entire game. The Hubs have shut out three opponents over their last four games after taking down Hinckley-Big Rock 7-0 and Ottawa 6-0.
“We have a really good team and we have the potential to win a lot of games,” sophomore defender Gyvanziel Quinonez said. “I believe we can accomplish a lot if we work together. We’ve played a lot together as a team, and we just have a strong bond.”
Monday’s game was the first of three that Rochelle will play this week. The LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers will come to town on Tuesday before the Hubs journey to Geneseo for another conference matchup against the Maple Leafs. Rochelle is looking to enter the postseason with rhythm, and two more victories this week will serve as a solid starting point.
“We have to play with our hearts first by going hard after every ball,” Flores said. “We need to make the simple plays.”
