Marengo’s Maggie Hanson always prepares for the unexpected.
Less than a minute after kicking off the second half, Hanson found a chance to score and break a 0-0 draw during the team’s Kishwaukee River Conference opener against Woodstock North.
Capitalizing on a through ball from forward Myah Broughton, as well as the gusty winds at her back, Hanson turned a Thunder turnover into a go-ahead goal.
It was the first of three second-half goals for Hanson, whose strikes in the 41st, 54th and 73rd minutes propelled Marengo to a 3-0 win over the Thunder. The Indians (2-0, 1-0 KRC) overcame a 7-4 shot-on-goal deficit in the first half, controlling the ball and pressuring the Woodstock North defense with touch passes and runs to the net.
“I had the wind at my back, so I was a little more confident to get some shots off,” Hanson said. “Some of them weren’t the best shots, but you never know what can happen. During the second half, we were familiar with the feel and everything. We were thinking about more shots on goal and we had a different strategy to attack the defense.”
Already matching its KRC win total from last season, Marengo seemed to control the pace over the first 15 minutes of play. But as the winds swirled, so did the momentum toward Woodstock North (1-2-1, 0-1 KRC), which had quality chances midway through and late in the first half. Dylan Burris, who led the Thunder offense with four shots on goal, put dangerous shots on during the 20th and 32nd minutes.
But the Thunder couldn’t get the ball past the Marengo defense and junior goalkeeper Macy Noe, the returning KRC Goalkeeper of the Year. A softball catcher growing up, Noe recorded seven first-half saves and finished with 11 for the game. Her efforts including multiple diving stops and a collision with Burris for a save in the 20th minute.
“I played softball for a while and I was a catcher, so I think being able to read the ball is a big factor,” Noe said. “I can see how it comes off their feet and knowing my positioning in the net, I know how to make it the least probable shot to go in. ... I think our back line did a really good job of reading when to come up and when to attack the ball.”
Noe stopped a close-range shot by Thunder defender Abby Ward in the 38th minute to keep the match scoreless at halftime. Meanwhile, Woodstock North goalkeeper Alexis Ochoa notched four saves to keep Marengo off the board in the first half. A slow start to the second half doomed the Thunder, who had just four shots on goal for the period.
“I’ve always said we have to start with the defense first,” Martinez said. “Our defense has been really good and Abby [Ward] did a wonderful job of cutting those runs off because we knew they had speed on the wings. We had our chances. We were trying to move the ball forward. We just couldn’t finish on our end in the first half.”
Burris, a freshman, and Allison Anderson, a sophomore, spearheaded the Woodstock North offense Friday. Anderson posted three shots on goal for the Thunder, while senior forward Zarai Segovia had two shots on goal including a promising one in the 60th minute that Noe saved. Martinez’s postgame message emphasized focus and communication.
“I think we went into the second half with a poor mentality,” Martinez said. “We started really slow in those first 30 seconds, so that got us down a bit more afterward. It’s an 80-minute game, not a 40-minute game. We want the intensity to be there for 80 minutes. ... We have to work on our communication and connect passes to create chances.”
Noe preserved the shutout with a dazzling one-handed save late in the second half. The Indians, who won their season opener at Stillman Valley 3-0 earlier this week, will face Rockford Jefferson on the road next Monday before resuming KRC play at Woodstock next Wednesday. Woodstock North will travel to battle Wauconda at 6:15 p.m. Monday.