ROCHELLE — Eighty minutes and seven rounds of penalty kicks weren’t enough to decide the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity soccer team’s Interstate 8 matchup against Plano on Monday.
Shooting to bounce back from a 3-0 loss against Sycamore this past Wednesday, Rochelle battled throughout regulation, erasing one-goal deficits on two separate occasions to end the second half at a 2-2 draw with the Reapers. Rather than conclude the match with a tie, both teams readied themselves for penalty kicks, with Plano earning the right to shoot first.
Both teams went 1-for-5 during the penalty-kick rounds, with junior Kailey Harris knocking in Rochelle’s first of the shootout to keep the Lady Hubs alive and extend the shootout into sudden death, where whichever team that won the round would be declared the winner. Plano and Rochelle both missed in the sixth round, but after the Reapers found the net to open the seventh round, junior Kyra Rimstidt answered with a score to give the Lady Hubs another shot.
Sophomore goalkeeper Danica Ward stepped up in the eighth round for Rochelle, standing pat and earning the save to give sophomore teammate Kara Martinez a chance to win the match for the Lady Hubs. With all eyes on the Plano net, Martinez strode forward and sent a right-footed boot past the Reaper goalkeeper, effectively sealing a 3-2 victory for the Lady Hubs.
“My teammates have done a lot for me,” Martinez said. “They help me a lot during practice and making that shot for them was a huge confidence booster for me. I was doubting myself for a minute, but my teammates continued to encourage me and that’s what allowed me to make that shot. It’s a huge confidence booster for all of us because we came back after a rough start to the match and I think it’s a really good sign for our team that we were able to win today.”
Although Rochelle (3-5, 2-1 Interstate 8) outshot the Reapers 23-5 and 7-3 in shots on goal, Plano took advantage of the few scoring chances it earned throughout the match, surging ahead 1-0 during the first minute. Freshman Makayla Lara sent in the equalizer during the 21st minute, placing a left-footed shot into the upper left-hand portion of the Plano net.
The Reapers regained the lead shortly before halftime, scoring during the 39th minute to take a 2-1 advantage into the second half, where the Lady Hubs continued applying pressure on offense. Rochelle broke through during the 61st minute, where Harris sent a ball into the Plano box that sophomore Sydney Thorne found before assisting Lara for her second goal of the day.
The score remained 2-2 after regulation before both teams took the field for the penalty-kick shootout, where Ward successfully deterred six of the eight shots taken by the Reapers.
“My heart was racing the entire time,” Ward said. “I did everything I could to maintain my focus and not let anything get into my head. Whenever the match comes down to penalty kicks, it really becomes a guessing game for me because it’s tough to determine where the players are going to shoot the ball. It’s a huge confidence booster for us because I think we’re really starting to come together as a team. We’re already connecting and we’re pushing each other.”