Girls soccer: Larkin shuts out Streamwood

Larkin senior Elizabeth Baeza is adjusting to playing a new position this year quite nicely and the result is paying dividends for the Royals' girls soccer team.

After playing midfield the first 3 years as a varsity player Baeza switched to forward this season and she has made an immediate impact with 3 goals in the first 4 games.

Baeza scored both of the Royals' goals on Tuesday night in a 2-0 Upstate Eight River Division win over visiting Streamwood at Memorial Field in Elgin.

"She just keeps getting better every game," Larkin coach Ken Hall said. "We put her up top because her best attribute is her speed and we felt she could really utilize it up there. She definitely used it to her advantage tonight. She has made great progress in getting to know the position and learning where she needs to move."

Larkin (2-2, 1-1) was knocking on the door with an 8-2 shot advantage in the first half. However, it wasn't until the second half that the Royals finally broke through.

Baeza scored her first goal just 1:17 into the second half as she dribbled past a defender on the left side and then beat Sabre goalie Yasmine Resendia with a shot from 10 yards out into the left lower corner of the net.

"It seemed like we knocked on that door thirty-something times in the first half," Hall said. "We talked at halftime about keeping the ball low. Too many of our shots were going high in the first half. So, we kept it on the ground in the second half."

Baeza followed up with another goal off a rebound right in front of the net at the 27:57 mark of the second half.

"I'm starting to get a lot more confidence at this new position," Baeza said. "The biggest thing I've had to get used to is the waiting for the ball. I'm not use to having to wait for the ball. When you play midfield you are running after the ball all the time. I'm not use to shooting that much either, but today I was just going for it."

Larkin goalkeeper Haley Casebeer needed only 4 saves to record the shutout.

"I really liked the way our back line played,' Hall said. "We did a good job of making (Alondra) Blanco, their main scoring threat, give up the ball. That's the key to stopping them. I thought Maria Nendoza and Cristina Baeza did a good job of not giving her any breathing room in the second half."

Streamwood slipped to 0-4, 0-2.

"We are young and still trying to find some chemistry," Streamwood coach Jerry Skowron. "But the last four games we have made some strides. Our combination passing was much better in the middle and we were able to move the ball up the field. Hopefully we can keep building towards getting better."