Sycamore offense explodes against Sterling for 4th straight win

SYCAMORE – After losing four straight games to start the season, goalkeeper Lilly Horne and the Sycamore soccer team have rattled off four straight victories, the latest an 8-0 win Thursday against Sterling.

All four wins have been shutouts for Horne in net as the Spartans have evened their season record at 4-4.

“It’s really great but everyone is doing so amazing,” Horne said. “I have to credit my defense so much. Everyone in front of me is doing amazing and really helping me out. Obviously, I get a lot of the credit but they’re the ones doing the hard work. They’re giving it their all.”

The Spartans jumped out early on the Golden Warriors (1-6), with Karli Kruizenga connecting on a shot in traffic in the sixth minute. Ella Shipley and Kruizenga added first-half goals as the Spartans took a 3-0 lead into halftime.

Shipley needed only 34 seconds to score the first goal of the second half. A ball popped through the Sterling defense at midfield and Shipley chased it down past the defenders, beating Sterling goalkeeper Jessica White one-on-one for the goal.

“At halftime it was the game we expected it to be,” Sterling coach Alex Miller said. “But we’re still a young team and learning, and things got away in the second half.”

Shipley completed her hat trick in the 61st minute to boost the lead to 5-0 when coach Kevin Bickley pulled most of his starters.

Alyssa Akers added two late goals and Alicia Leon added one in the closing minutes.

“We’ve got some tough opponents coming up, so things are going to get tough again for us,” Bickley said. “We’ve gotten some bodies back, but playing games helps. Early on we had some girls that were maybe out of position or maybe unfamiliar with their position.”

Bickley said he’s been impressed with the way Horne and the Sycamore defense have been playing the past week.

“She’s a very confident goalkeeper with a lot of experience,” Bickley said. “She provides a lot of leadership in the back. With Katie [Haub] in front of her that’s another senior leader. Those two, kind of, they’re very vocal in the back, and we’ve got young players on either side of them. Having her confidence back there helps.”

For Sterling, there wasn’t much of an attack on offense. But the Sycamore offense peppered White throughout the game, with the Sterling senior turning away a few opportunities.

Kruizenga got behind the Sterling defense and sought to complete her first-half hat trick, but White came up with the save. Ellie Gasso also sped back and disrupted some Sycamore attacks.

Hailey Walters had the best scoring chance for the Golden Warriors, going 1-on-1 with Horne. Both made diving plays after the ball with Horne wrapping it up in the first half.

“We have a lot of chemistry now,” Horne said. “We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, obviously. But now that we’ve gotten into a rhythm and everyone is playing well together, I’m really proud of the development we’ve had.”