Girls soccer: West Chicago forges tie with Elgin

Spring Break will hold a little added meaning for West Chicago's girls soccer team.

Playing its sixth game in as many days, the Wildcats (2-4-1) rallied for a 1-1 tie with Upstate Eight Conference crossover foe Elgin (0-0-2) Saturday afternoon in West Chicago.

Midfielder Kayla Schwarz scored the equalizer for the Wildcats in the 58th minute, knocking down a long left-side cross from junior Maribel Gonazlez just to the right side of the net and slipping the ball past Maroons keeper Hannah Erickson (5 saves).

"Maribel hit me and I just hit it in," Schwarz said of her first goal of the season. "It was right there."

"Like I mentioned to the girls, they (the Maroons) put the first one in on us and we came back strong and answered," said Wildcats coach J. Cesar Gomez.

Considering the fact that the Wildcats' players were battling fatigue after the grueling early-season stretch, their ability to bounce back showed great character.

"We're mentally tired as well," said Gomez. "It's fun for them - they're kids. It's fun watching them listen to what we have to say because we have had zero time to coach them (in practice) right now. We're just kind of working through it."

After losing the first 3 games of the weeklong stretch, the Wildcats finished on a positive note with a 2-0-1 mark.

"I thought we played well against Sycamore (March 22)," said the coach. "They scored the only goal in the last 23 seconds but I felt it was a favorable result for us.

"We're young with only two seniors on the field. We're playing completely new people on the back and it was kind of shaky for a little bit today but it's part of the game."

Senior keeper Emma Gaggioli recorded 5 saves for the Wildcats, who will enjoy some well-deserved time off prior to Friday's game against Oswego.

"We're tired," admitted Schwarz. "It's hard but we're improving so that's good."

After a sluggishly paced first half, Elgin grabbed its first lead of the young season just 3 minutes and 42 seconds into the second half on a 34-yard free kick from the middle of the field by senior Nancy Garcia.

"Nancy always has a blast and with the wind at her back it obviously brings it 5-10 more yards," said Elgin coach Alicia Knoll.

Garcia, who was one of the Maroons' top players as a sophomore in 2015, did not play soccer last season.

"It's fantastic to have her back," said Knoll. "I think she has grown as a person and a player during the last year."

It took nearly 29 minutes for the Maroons to record their first shot - a left-footed attempt from Brittany Dazzo that Gaggioli stopped.

"It seems like they want to wait until they hear me scream before they want to pick it up," said Knoll. "We definitely played a lot stronger in the second half."