Women's First Team Stuns DeKalb County United 3-2

Molly Pistorius drives the ball up the field against a DeKalb County United player. Credit: Nate Varda

The Women’s First Team faced a tough battle on Wednesday at NIU Soccer Stadium in DeKalb, IL against DeKalb County United but came out victorious in the end with a 3-2 win.

GOALS:

Rooks: Pistorius 15’, Tang 79’, Leigh 90’

DeKalb County United: 19’, 46’

The first half started off slow, with both teams fighting for possession of the ball. The Rooks utilized their passing in the first half, making sure to stay organized and focused. Slowly inching toward the goal, the Rooks were set to start off the first half on a good note. 

Danielle Boudakh and Lauren Hall put the defensive pressure to the max early on, forcing the opposing players to be pushed outside the box and find other options. 

In the 15th minute, Natasha Davenport initiated a corner kick from the right corner. Forward player Molly Pistorius came running into the box and successfully hit a header from the right side of the goal. The ball floated over DeKalb’s goalkeeper and made contact with the left net of the goal. The tone was set with a score of 1-0.

Shortly after in the 19th minute, Emily Olsen had possession of the ball until a DeKalb player slid a tackle and forced Olsen to the ground, ultimately obtaining possession. The DeKalb player passed it upfield to her teammate who was conveniently at the top of the box unmarked. With a quick touch, the ball rolled past ECFC's goalkeeper Lucy Clark who attempted a diving save and into the bottom right corner of the goal. The score was now tied 1-1 within the first 20 minutes of the game.

These early goals didn’t stop the momentum for both teams. Skyler Bierker, Hall, Doudakh, and Clark played exceptional defense and held the fort down by using effective communication and looking up the field to find their teammates in order to stop the pressing DeKalb side. 

Davenport and Courtney Sengstock kept drilling balls at the goal, attempting to put the Rooks up by one more before halftime, but DeKalb’s goalkeeper shut them out as well. The scoreboard was still 1-1 at the end of the first half, with 6 shots on goal for the Rooks and 3 shots on goal for DeKalb. 

At the start of the second half, DeKalb stepped on the gas. Having advantage of kicking off the half, a second goal for DeKalb was scored in the 46th minute of the game. The ball was crossed from the right side of the field to a DeKalb player next on the left side of the box. After collecting the ball, the ball was quickly sent past Clark to the back of the net, making the score 2-1.

DeKalb kept the energy up with more shots on goal, but Clark wasn’t phased. The Rooks were hungry for a goal as well, creeping toward their box again with multiple corner kicks but still no successful cross. The match turned into a tough battle, with a yellow card issued to Hall in the 76th minute after a DeKalb forward player fell to the ground while Hall was tackling.

The Rooks had earned another corner kick from the right corner in the 79th minute. Davenport went up to kick and the Rooks came crashing into the goal. The ball was deflected by the goalkeeper’s hands but Lauren Tang was there inside the box to get the rebound and quickly made her move. The ball shot right over the DeKalb defense and into the top of the net, and Tang successfully tied up the game up to 2-2.

Jocelyn Leigh was determined to put one more goal in the net for the Rooks. In the 80th minute, Leigh took a shot on goal but the DeKalb goalkeeper kept her ground. In the 87th minute, Leigh carried the ball into the box but was bombarded by DeKalb defense. 

In the 90th minute, DeKalb initiated a free kick from their box and shot it towards Olsen, who successfully shot it back up the field. The ball found its way to Scott Murray back where the free kick started and Murray made a pass to Leigh with a header. Leigh quickly collected the ball and fought off two DeKalb defenders while she entered their box. The goalkeeper ran towards Leigh while she sent the ball with her right foot past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner of the goal, putting the Rooks up over DeKalb in the final seconds of the half, securing the Rooks win.

After their win, Tang recalls her mindset and her goal that tied up the game in the second half. The team felt the pressure to step up as they were down 2-1 in the beginning of the second half. As a corner kick was in favor of the Rooks, Tang knew her role as “trash” would be essential during this game.

“I usually go ‘trash’ and that means being in the back area just in case a ball bounces out and being ready for the second ball. When I saw it go in, I saw a random bounce, went for it, and volleyed it straight in. Just getting the second ball [is crucial]. I was feeling the pressure [to tie the game up] but at the same time I knew that we could do it based on our past games. I feel like we’ve been able to finish strong and so I was confident that we could come back,” Tang said.

The Women’s First Team are set to face Rockford Raptors again for their second matchup of the season at Wedgbury Stadium in Caledonia, IL at 7:00 PM on June 14th.