Girls soccer: Big second half sends Hersey past Schaumburg

Three second half goals in rapid fire helped end a recent scoring drought for Hersey who claimed a 3-0 victory over visiting Schaumburg in a MSL West Division contest Friday night at Roland Goins Stadium in Arlington Heights.

The Huskies had dropped their last three games by 1-0 results. After missing a PK and two other glorious first half chances, Hersey, led by a double by its super sophomore Nora Eitz, netted three in just under four minutes to break open a hard=fought contest with the Saxons.

"We've been playing well as a team, especially last night against Naperville North. Maybe we're lacking confidence in the final third, or just pressing when we create chances, but it felt good for us to score a few goals," said Eitz, who scored the opener in the 56th minute, then her second on this cold night just a few minutes later.

The Huskies, now 5-5-2 overall, and 3-2-2 (11 points) in league play, pressure the Saxons (7-5-1, 3-5-0, 9 points) from the onset, and kept keeper Peyton Liles on high alert during the opening quarter hour.

Gracie Lisota went just over the bar at 4 minutes, Eitz broke free of a pair of defenders before forcing Liles to save her left-footed effort, then went wide from 22 yards before the visitors finally found their form.

"I thought we played really well in the first half. But after that first goal after the break, our play kind of fell off a bit until we came back and played much better right up until the end," said Saxons senior captain Sophia Snow.

Snow, a three-sport athlete (flag football, basketball) feels the Saxons have come along nicely this season after losing several from a year ago to graduation.

"We have a lot of new players this season, but our chemistry has been strong from the very beginning, and that is one of the strengths of this team," said Snow.

"Our midfield has been playing really well, and our attack is creating chances, so I feel like we can compete when regionals begin."

Lisota would send Eitz through on the tail end of a well played counter to score her seventh of the season before freshman Katrin Dzhokova placed the ball on her left foot to send her 25-yard effort past Liles.

Eitz made it 3-0 when she unleashed a wicked left-footed missile that bounded off the post and over the endline in the 59th minute.

"Hopefully the three goals we scored tonight will help give our attack the confidence we need going forward," added Eitz.

Next up for the Huskies is Prospect on Monday, while the Saxons host Prospect on Wednesday evening.