ROCHELLE — After playing defense for most of last year, Rochelle midfielder and team co-captain Olivia Piloni felt like her junior season with the Lady Hubs varsity soccer team this year was a breakthrough experience.

Armed with an attacking mentality, Piloni led the Rochelle girls with six goals this season, and her efforts were enough to warrant All-Conference First Team recognition by the Northern Illinois Big 12. Piloni also booted a team-high 10 corner kicks and totaled two assists for the Lady Hubs. She led Rochelle in both shots (27) and shots on goal (22) as well.

“I was really honored,” Piloni said. “It’s been a goal of mine since I started playing at RTHS and I’m glad that the work I have been putting in is paying off… This year was definitely a change for me because I had a leadership position from the beginning of the season and I think all of us captains had a big role in helping the girls who had not played before.”

Piloni was forced to move back on defense during her sophomore season, but she took advantage of her opportunities in the midfield this year. Lady Hubs head coach Chris Blevins called Piloni the “cornerstone” player of the program moving forward, and the junior never showed signs of backing down from any player or any opponent, despite Rochelle winning only one game in 2018.

As Piloni prepares for her senior season, she said she’s aiming to improve her finishing skills as well as her handling abilities.

“I really tried to keep everybody in a positive mind set because when we’re getting scored on and the score isn’t looking good, I know how easy it is to think that we’re going to lose,” Piloni said. “I think it was important to look past that because most of us were new and hadn’t played before so we were doing the best we could.”