Girls soccer: Stevenson’s second half surge beats Warren, puts Patriots in NSC lead
Warren has put the squeeze on its NSC rivals this spring by going 4-0-0 in league play to stay on top of the league.
The Blue Devils hosted Stevenson Tuesday night at their Almond Campus in Gurnee to begin their most important stretch of the season, and they could not have gotten off to a better start when freshman Kenzie Szczerowski netted her 11th goal six minutes in.
However, the Patriots (8-3-2, 4-0-1) soon found their way back, equalizing at 20 minutes — and did so again when the home side took a brief lead just after the intermission.
The visitors hit their stride after drawing level at 2-2 with four goals in six minutes, then adding another later en route to an impressive 6-2 victory.
The Patriots now stand alone in the NSC, with Libertyville, a 9-0 winner over Zion-Benton, second at 2-0-2.
"We didn't get the start that we wanted to tonight. But with a great mix of young players and older players like myself, we just never seem to get down on ourselves. (So) I knew we would get back in this game sooner or later," said senior forward B Baker, who recorded a double, along with freshman Ariana Glavatsky.
"(Warren) did everything so much better than we did in the first 10-15 minutes, but when we scored our first goal, I felt like we got back to playing our style of soccer," added Glavatsky.
The Blue Devils (10-2-1, 4-1-0) have been on quite a run this season, thanks in part to the addition of a trio of freshman and a handful of veterans who have quickly come together to become a force in the area, while earning the No. 1 seed at the Machesney Park sectional.
"We came out with so much energy, and I really felt that early goal we scored would be just what we needed to carry us on for the rest of the game," said Jacqueline Amezquita, the Blue Devils’ terrific center-back.
"(But) the wheels kind of fell off early in the second half, and the game just got away from us. (So) we just have to put this game behind and get ready for our next game."
The Blue Devils will play at Lake Zurich on Thursday.
Junior Kimberly White gave the home side a 2-1 lead when she converted her spot-kick in the 49th minute before Baker, from Glavatsky, leveled things three minutes later.
Baker would redirect a helper from Cleo Sadler in the 55th minute, then Sadie Carranza doubled the Patriots advantage at 57 minutes with Abby Samson getting the assist.
Glavatsky added another to the scoreline 60 seconds later, with Sydney An putting the finishing touches on this second half scoring explosion in the 66th minute.
"Our attack was just great, especially in the second half, but our backline did an amazing job all night long," said Baker.
Next up for the Patriots is Zion-Benton on Thursday.