ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hubs broke a scoreless draw with two second-half goals during their nonconference varsity soccer match against Stillman Valley on Monday evening.

Looking to bounce back from a road loss at Harlem on Friday, Rochelle pushed through windy conditions in the first half, where both teams fought for possession but were unable to find the back of the net. The Lady Hubs broke through during the second half, however, as senior captains Makayla Lara and Emma Kennay each scored goals to lead Rochelle over Stillman Valley 2-0. The Lady Hubs (1-1, 0-0 Interstate 8) will host Mendota on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

“It builds our confidence,” Lara said. “We have a lot of really good freshmen who have experience and we’re still working on building up our chemistry and learning how everyone plays. We were able to look up and pass more in the second half and we used our defense as a way to restart and play the ball to the outside so we could use the width of the field.”

With the match even at 0-0 early in the second half, Rochelle took advantage of a free kick to score its first goal of the evening and of its season. The goal came during the 43rd minute, when senior defender and captain Betty Flores launched a free ball that soared deep into the Stillman Valley penalty box. The kick doubled as a long pass that found its way to Lara, who sent a close-range shot into the Cardinal net to give the Lady Hubs a 1-0 advantage.

“It helps us know that we can work together as a team and come out with the right outcome if we really want to,” Lara said. “We just have to work hard for it because anything is possible.”

Rochelle extended its lead during the 56th minute, when continued pressure on the Stillman Valley defense resulted in the second goal of the match. Playing with the wind at their backs, the Lady Hubs earned a corner kick from the far side, which Lara sent into the Cardinal box. Amid a crowded box, the ball ultimately found its way to the foot of the senior midfielder and captain Kennay, who converted the corner kick to give the Lady Hubs a two-goal lead in the match.

Despite a late push from the Stillman Valley offense, Rochelle’s defense stood strong and preserved the team’s first shutout of the season. With Flores leading the way, Rochelle drew several offside calls on the Cardinals and took away Stillman Valley’s promising through balls, using superior speed in the middle and smart clearances on the outsides to keep the shutout. 

“We were all a bit nervous before this game because of what our outcome was on Friday,” Flores said. “I’m really proud of us and we really improved in such a short amount of time. I’m proud of how we played and I hope that we can keep this momentum going. One big thing was that we communicated a lot and I was able to communicate with my wings. We have a very new squad, but we kept communicating and I’m really proud of how we held our line in the back.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Yana Bartkiv finished with five saves for the Lady Hubs, who outshot the Cardinals 12-6 and totaled five shots on goal during the match on Monday. Lara led the Rochelle offense with nine shots and three shots on goal, while Kennay posted two shots, both of which were on goal.