Girls soccer: Rosenow’s hat trick leads DeKalb past Dixon

DeKalb's Isabella Schmerbach throws the ball in against Dixon Thursday, May 5, 2022.

DIXON – When the playing conditions are less than ideal, being opportunistic is a key factor in winning a soccer game.

DeKalb was able to do just that Thursday at Sauk Valley Community College, as senior captain Natalie Rosenow scored a hat trick to lead the Barbs past Dixon 4-2 in a wet, cool day.

The wet grass was tricky to judge, as several times the ball skidded farther and faster than normal, and other times it slowed the ball down and passes that were headed out of bounds stayed in the field of play.

“It’s tough to play after it rains; you can’t control the ball real well, and when you try to kick it, it always goes flying another way,” Dixon freshman Carlie Cook said. “Before you kick, you just have make sure you’re kicking it in the right spot.”

“It was challenging, especially balls in the air; you had to judge when it’s going to bounce and how, if it’s going to slip or skid or spin,” Rosenow said. “When it bounces off other people’s shin guards, you have to be able to judge the ball. You don’t always know know where it’s going to go.”

She managed to find the back of the net three times, with a goal in the first half and two more in the second half; she scored less than five minutes after the break, then finished off the scoring with about five minutes remaining. She also assisted on the Barbs’ other goal.

DeKalb's Kendra Sullivan and Dixon's Emily Smith go after a loose ball Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Rosenow started the scoring in the 12th minute, when she lofted a free kick over the outstretched hands of a leaping Dixon goalkeeper Madeline McLane and just under the crossbar for a 1-0 DeKalb lead with 28:45.

“I was just praying that it went in,” she said. “I was just thinking, ‘Please go in,’ and it ended up being perfect.”

DeKalb stretched the lead to 2-0 with 15 minutes left in the first half when Rosenow’s through ball was chased down by Alexis Hart. McLane started to come out to get it, but hesitated when it looked like Hart would beat her to it. After McLane resumed the charge, Hart was able to track it down first, and with a nifty sidestep, kicked it into the open net.

But the Duchesses responded just two minutes later. Cook made a run to the goal but was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick. She mis-hit the ball a bit, but it skidded under diving DeKalb goalkeeper Sarah Haley to cut the Dixon deficit to 2-1.

“In the past, I’ve kicked it right at the goalie, and my dad’s always saying, ‘Kick it to the corners,’ and I end up kicking it right at the goalie. I tried my best to kick it at the corner, but it slipped again and I thought it was going right to the goalie again,” Cook said with a smile. “But it skipped passed her, so I guess I lucked out. But it worked out for us.”

Dixon's Maggie Van Sickle (14) dribbles the ball as DeKalb's Natalie Delgado (17) chases her on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Early in the second half, the Barbs extended the lead back to two goals. Rosenow’s shot deflected off a Dixon player and into the net for a 3-1 DeKalb lead with 35:30 remaining in the game.

Nine minutes later, Dixon again trimmed the deficit to one, as Cook managed to boot a crossing pass from the right of the DeKalb goal to the left. Haley had moved to her left to challenge a potential shot by Cook, and the pass found a wide-open Leah Stees, who beat Haley as she sprinted to get back to her right at the near post to get within 3-2 with 26:30 left.

“I’m not really good at crossing, but I knew I was falling down, and I thought maybe I could try and get one more pass off,” Cook said. “I managed to hit it pretty good and it went right across the goal to Leah, and she was in the right place at the right time.”

DeKalb did its best to control things after that, and managed to withstand a few Dixon chances. Rosenow put the capper on things with five minutes left, as she managed to get her foot on the ball in a goalmouth scrum following a corner kick for her first hat trick of the season.

“I did not think I was going to get it, because I had taken a couple of other shots and they kept going wide. But I thought, ‘I’m here in front of the goal, might as well shoot,’” Rosenow said. “I think we had a lot of confidence today. We knew that we could continue to connect and make plays. It didn’t just have to be me, we were all connecting really well today, really working well as a team.”

Dixon's Sydney Chesley tries to corral the ball in front of DeKalb's Laura Ovalle-Cruz (4) on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

DeKalb had 18 shots to Dixon’s eight; the Barbs had 11 shots on goal, and the Duchesses managed six. Haley made four saves for DeKalb.

Barbs coach Nicole Fleming felt the Barbs’ crisp and accurate passing on an unfamiliar field was the key to the victory.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on, possessing and connecting with our passes, so I was glad to see that,” she said. “I was actually surprised that with the conditions and the field – we’re used to playing on turf – that the girls did as well as they did, but I’m very happy.”

McLane made seven saves for Dixon (9-5), and drew praise from coach Kristin Carlson for her ability to step in for injured starter Hanna Lengquist, who can’t yet return to the keeper spot, but did play some fullback and midfield Thursday.

The Duchesses also played without leading goal scorer Kate Drew, but found some confidence in their attack without their leader at her usual forward position.

“Madeline is just a freshman that kind of got thrown in there because Hanna is a little hurt, and she played well,” Carlson said. “We’re missing Katie Drew up top, but I thought the girls worked together and played with a lot of confidence. We’re just plugging away; they’re getting tired, with a lot of games in a short period of time after so many cancellations early in the season.

“I thought we played very well. We added a new formation again – we like to keep throwing different ones out just to see what’s going to work. I’m really pleased with all the girls, they’re really working hard at practice and in games.”

Dixon's Sydney Chesley (22) battles for the ball with DeKalb's Laura Ovalle-Cruz and Isabella Schmerbach (4) on Thursday, May 5, 2022.
Ty Reynolds

Ty Reynolds

Ty is the Sports Editor at Sauk Valley Media, and has covered sports in the Sauk Valley for more than two decades.