ROCHELLE — It was only a short time before the Streator Bulldogs took control of Tuesday evening’s nonconference game against the Lady Hubs varsity soccer team when the two squads faced off in a physical battle at Rochelle Township High School that resulted in two red cards and one yellow card.

Streator scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of play to take a commanding 3-0 lead over Rochelle. Despite a season-high 16 saves from sophomore goalkeeper Viviana Belmonte, the Lady Hubs couldn’t hold off a strong and fast Bulldog offense, falling by a final score of 7-0 to drop to 1-2 on the season.

“They came out playing really aggressive and they were beating us with a lot of through balls,” Rochelle head coach Chris Blevins said. “They were really fast and our defense was trying to maintain position as much as possible, but it was often a footrace back to the ball and Viviana did a great job. She’s definitely improved each game and she was put in tough spots multiple times.”

Junior Olivia Piloni recorded Rochelle’s first shot on goal at the 18-minute mark, and the Lady Hubs managed to hold Streator scoreless despite conceding three quick goals in the first half. Piloni and freshman Vianey Perusquia each totaled two shots on goal in the first half for the Lady Hubs, who began gaining some offensive momentum with their ball movement as the first half progressed.

“Our outside midfielders were starting to do some good things as the game went on,” Blevins said. “Rhylie [Erdman] had some nice runs on the outside and we were beginning to switch the field which was good. But we had too many touches throughout the game and our game just wasn’t where it should’ve been today.”

Streator (30’) added one more goal before halftime to enter the second half with a 4-0 advantage over the Lady Hubs. While the Rochelle defense fought hard to contend with Streator’s high-powered offense, the Bulldogs proved too tough to contain, as the red and white scored their fifth goal (45’) early in the second half to gain a 5-0 lead.

“They just had really good, strong passing,” Blevins said. “They were fast and they caught us off guard. Our defense was getting tired near the end of the game with all the running they had to do getting back to the ball, and we just need to keep thinking and keep moving up even when we’re tired.”

The Bulldogs capped off their victory with two late goals (71’ and 78’) before Tuesday’s game ended with some physical battles for the ball on both ends of the field, which resulted in stoppage of play and two red cards, one against Streator and one for Rochelle, and a yellow card on Streator head coach J.T. Huey. The Lady Hubs will look to bounce back against Yorkville.