Big second half carries Burlington Central

The first half belonged to Kassidy Grimscheid and Marengo, but the second half was all Burlington Central.

The Rockets outscored the Indians 7-0 after halftime to win going away, 8-3, in the Big Northern East girls soccer matchup in Marengo Thursday.

Alyssa Messina and Cali Andrew scored 3 goals apiece to lead the Rocket attack.

"I told them that we've been at this for two months," said Central coach Massimo Piscopo. "We're behind in the game 3-1. It doesn't matter which line is going to do it, but I need a hero, and that's going to change the momentum. We need to do what we've been working on."

The Rockets (6-4-2, 5-1-1) looked out of sync in the first half as Grimscheid scored 3 times to put Marengo ahead. Central's only goal of the first 40 minutes came on Messina's penalty kick after Andrew was dragged down inside the box on a breakaway.

But after the break, the Rockets came out on fire. Messina and Andrew each scored in the first 5 minutes to tie the game. And the Rockets kept the pressure on.

Ashley Ahrens scored 3 minutes later to put Central ahead. Cassandra Ciganek scored on a free kick, giving the Rockets 4 goals in less than 11 minutes.

A little change in strategy helped fuel the big turnaround.

"I changed the formation and we made it work," said Piscopo. "Every time we change the formation and we give them a different look to play with and it worked out."

Andrew and Messina added 3 more goals in the late going to give the Rockets some breathing room.

Abby Ciganek pitched the second-half shutout in goal for Central.