Girls soccer: Lindsey Bargiel’s goal powers DeKalb past Rochelle

DeKALB – After a scoreless first half, Lindsey Bargiel and the DeKalb soccer team took advantage of the wind and scored in the first eight minutes of the second half, beating Rochelle, 1-0, on Thursday.

The Barbs (2-6) had two quick scoring chances to start the second half after most of the first half was played in the middle of the field. But Bargiel, who had been ahead of the Rochelle defense a couple of times earlier in the game, once against broke away past the Hubs (3-6).

She went one-on-one with the goalie, who was pulled way out, and the ball squirted away and slowly rolled into the net before any Rochelle player could clear it with 32:49 left.

“I was just looking to make a run,” Bargiel said. “And I think it helped motivate us and helped us stay positive.”

[ Photos: DeKalb girls soccer hosts Rochelle in the wind ]

Three minutes later, Bargiel got past the defense again and took a shot but missed to the right. Bargiel’s runs came despite the Hubs playing a defense designed to trap the Barbs offsides.

“That was one of the things we talked about at halftime was the connection between our midfielders and our offensive players,” DeKalb coach Nicole Fleming said. “They were playing the offsides trap, so we had to combat that. It was important for us to come out and get one quick.”

Fleming said she was impressed with how the team came out in the second half.

“I feel like we made the adjustments at halftime we needed to,” Fleming said. “And after we got that first one quick and saw that maybe some of the adjustments we made were actually working, we were a little more aggressive on offense.”

Kendra Sullivan started in goal for the Barbs, turning away a pair of Rochelle shots in the first half. With about 20 minutes left in the game, Fleming pulled Sullivan – also one of the team’s best offensive weapons – and put in Sarah Haley.

After Sullivan got into a regular uniform three minutes later, she reentered the game up top for the Barbs, with Haley turning away a Rochelle shot in the meantime.

“Kendra is pretty talented offensively and in the goal,” Fleming said. “We knew we were up by one and wanted to see if we could sneak a couple more in, so we gave her a shot.”

Fleming said it’s been a balancing act all year trying to decide the best use for Sullivan.

“It’s been a tough choice,” Fleming said. “Sometimes it’s worked, and sometimes it’s come back to bite us. It’s nice to have an all-around player like Kendra.”