Hampshire dumps Dundee-Crown
The Hampshire Whip-Purs girls soccer team got a good look at one of their new Fox Valley Conference rivals Wednesday.
The Whip-Purs (1-3) defeated the Dundee-Crown Chargers 1-0 to open the third day of the fourth annual South Elgin spring break tournament at Millennium Field in Streamwood. It was a much-anticipated first win of the season for Hampshire and head coach Patrick O’Brien knows the victory over District 300 sister school D-C will be a confidence builder for his crew as they prepare for the difficult schedule ahead.
“We have a tough stretch of games coming up, so it’s good to get momentum as early as possible,” O’Brien said. “With the schedule we’re playing, it was good to get one now.”
The lone goal came 10 minutes into the game from Hampshire senior forward Helena VanEck, as she was in perfect position right in front of the net to knock in a pass from senior midfielder Natalie Starrenburg.
“It felt great,” said Starrenburg. “We had been working on switching the fields and trying to get the ball across right through the middle, and that’s how we got that first goal.”
“It was a mistake out of our back end,” said Dundee-Crown head coach Sebastian Falinski of letting up the early goal. “It was a bad ball, a bad touch. It’s something we’ll need to work on and get better at. We’ve got to be a little crisper and more refined.”
The Chargers (0-8) were backed by goalkeeper Denise Maldonado (11 saves), while Haylee Moscato (3 saves) was in net for Hampshire.
Starrenburg is one of nine seniors to return for the Whip-Purs; and although some key starters from last season are gone, she is confident in the group she has with her for 2012.
“We did lose a couple of starters from last year,” she said. “But I feel really comfortable with these girls because we were on club teams together over the summer, so I think we’re prepared for the season.”
Wednesday’s game was one of many that will come against FVC competition for Hampshire, which made the move to the conference this season.
“It’s really exciting,” Starrenburg said of the move. “We know that it’s going to be tougher, but we’re ready for it.”