ROCHELLE — Freshman Morgan DeLille delivered an equalizer that sparked a flurry of goals late in the first half as the Rochelle Lady Hubs sought their first Interstate 8 Conference win of the season during their varsity soccer match against LaSalle-Peru on Wednesday evening.

Facing a 1-0 deficit midway through the first half, DeLille tied the match in the 23rd minute, when the freshman forward booted in her second goal of the season. The equalizer sparked a string of five straight goals for the Lady Hubs, who dominated the final minutes of the opening half en route to a 6-2 victory over LaSalle-Peru. The win snapped a three-game conference losing streak for the Lady Hubs (6-7, 1-3 Interstate 8), who will face Indian Creek on Thursday.

“It was a really big boost for me and I think it set the pace for the rest of the game,” said DeLille, who was one of four Rochelle players to score in the win. “It’s really cool, especially since we’re such a young team with seven freshmen on varsity. We were spaced out and our talking was on point. We weren’t clumping up and we knew where we were going to get the ball so we could meet it there. We were there for that one-two give-and-go… We have such a great team and when you get down, someone’s there to build you back up and you’re ready for the next play.” 

Rochelle generated plenty of pressure against the winless Cavaliers, outshooting LaSalle-Peru 23-3 and posting 14 shots on goal during the match. The Lady Hubs took their first lead of the match late in the first half, where a foul inside the Cavalier box during the 37th minute led to a penalty-kick goal for senior midfielder Makayla Lara, who immediately followed with goals in the 38th and 39th minutes to complete her hat trick and give the Lady Hubs a 4-1 advantage.

Two freshmen connected for Rochelle’s final goal of the opening half, with midfielder Evelyn Garcia sending a ball toward the LaSalle-Peru net that ricocheted to forward Abigail Dougherty, who tapped it in for her second goal of the season. Leading 5-1 entering the second half, the Lady Hubs scored their sixth and final goal during the 55th minute, when Lara rolled a pass into the LaSalle-Peru box that junior Deissy Torres toed into the net for her first goal of the season.

“It’s a really big confidence builder, especially since we got six goals in,” freshman midfielder Paige Harris said. “We’ve really worked on our passing and the practices we’ve had built us up to do this today. Our runs were working really well and we were communicating better than we had in previous games. The quick one-two passes made a big difference. The help that the seniors and the older players have given us… They made us feel like we were a part of the team from the first day and we’ve built a team atmosphere. That’s made a big impact on us.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Yana Bartkiv notched one save for the Lady Hubs, who have doubled their win total from last season, when Rochelle finished 3-20. Lara led the Rochelle offense with 14 total shots and 11 shots on goal in Wednesday’s win over the Cavaliers. The Lady Hubs will resume Interstate 8 play with a home match against Ottawa on Monday, April 21 at 4:30 p.m.