Hampshire blanked in opener

Rarely are games won in the first 10 minutes.

This one was.

Spearheaded by 2 goals during the first 10 minutes of the contest, Sycamore's early surge keyed an easy 8-0 win over Hampshire in action at the South Elgin Spring Fling Girls Soccer Tournament held at Streamwood's Millennium Field Wednesday.

"We didn't talk or communicate at all on Sycamore's first two goals," said Hampshire coach Sara O' Toole. "We made it easy for them to score. We just didn't connect with our defense to start the game. They are a very quick team and they were much quicker to the ball than we were."

Sycamore (1-1) didn't waste any time taking control of the game.

With only a 1 minute and 10 seconds elapsed in the game, the Spartans grabbed a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Alyssa Hemmerich.

Sycamore's second tally of the day came on a goal by Alyssa Maillefer on a feed by Emma Stice with 30:08 left before intermission.

The Spartans didn't let up and scored 3 more goals during the first 40 minutes. Hemmerich and Maillefer scored their second goals of the half while Ella Holland scored Sycamore's fifth goal of the half. Holland also had 2 assists as the Spartans held a commanding 5-0 lead at halftime.

"I like the way we bounced back after a tough loss to South Elgin," said Sycamore coach Dave Lichamer. "We really attacked offensively to start the game and got a lot of good shots on goal. We made the corrections from the first game and took a step in the right direction today."

Sycamore, which outshot Hampshire (0-1) 27-1, scored 3 insurance goals in the second half. Stice, Gina Miller and Monseratt Renteria all scored during the final 40 minutes for the winners.

Hemmerich and Maillefer each scored twice and Holland added a goal with 3 assists for the Spartans.

O'Toole employed Kaila Kienzler in the goal during the first 40 minutes while Catie Kochanski was in the nets during the second half.

Kienzler managed 9 saves and Kochanski pushed away 4 Sycamore shots.

"We thought it would be a good idea to play both goalies in the first game," said O' Toole. "Both played well. Sycamore could have certainly scored more goals."

Sycamore goalie Amanda Cook turned away Hampshire's only shot of the game.