Girls soccer: Dixon battles past Sterling in Route 2 rivalry clash

STERLING – In a hard-fought battle in a Route 2 rivalry game between nonconference foes, the Dixon girls soccer team defeated Sterling 2-0 on Tuesday evening at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

The teams were scoreless for the first 25 minutes, then Maggie Van Sickle lofted a strong shot past the Sterling goalkeeper to give the Duchesses (10-5) a 1-0 lead.

“That was a perfect shot by Maggie,” Carlie Cook said. “She kicked it pretty far, and the goalie couldn’t block it. Just a great shot by her.”

Dixon controlled possession for much of the second half, but Sterling’s defense played well and didn’t let the deficit grow.

“Our defense played solid today against Dixon, who has had some quality wins against some good teams,” Sterling coach Raul Sanchez said. “Finally we got some good weather, and it was a good game.”

But Cook finally gave the Duchesses some breathing room with 16:30 to play, slipping a ball past the Golden Warrior keeper for a 2-0 lead. The crossing pass form Sydney Chesley ricocheted off Rylee Pfoutz, and it somehow found Cook’s foot.

“Syd’s cross, that was perfect. It bounced off of Rylee Pfoutz, and I guess I must have been in the right spot,” Cook said. “I spun, did a 360, and kicked it in. I guess I got lucky.”

Dixon’s defense did a good job holding the 1-0 lead for nearly 40 minutes, making sure Sterling didn’t have the opportunity to tie the game.

“Our defense is really good, just great teamwork, and that’s the main thing in soccer. Everybody has to be working together,” Cook said. “Sterling’s varsity team’s pretty good, and I was kind of nervous when it was just 1-0, because they could tie it with just one score. Luckily, we scored another one late, and that was a little relief there at the end.”

The Golden Warriors nearly made the final 2-1, but a shot in the final seconds didn’t creep over the goal line until after the final horn had sounded.

“We did a couple of switches, moving our center-back to forward to try and get one in at the end,” Sanchez said, “and as you saw, it was only about a half-second away from it.”

It was a much-anticipated game for both sides in the run-up to next week’s Class 2A Rochelle Regional. For Dixon, it was a chance to play a solid opponent on their home field, something they Duchesses will have to deal with when they face regional host Rochelle next Wednesday.

“We came in to win, and we did,” Van Sickle said. “We weren’t expecting anything specific from the other team, and we came in and played well. We had good passing, and we really used our forwards to get around them. That worked out well, and our sends were pretty good, too. We’re looking forward to the postseason.”

For Sterling (1-20-2), seeing a team like Dixon that is aggressive and likes to attack will only benefit the Warriors as they play top-seeded Rockford Boylan next Tuesday.

“Our passing was improved a little bit, so that’s always progress coming into our Senior Night on Thursday, then going against Boylan Catholic on Tuesday,” Sanchez said. “I saw some tape, and they’re pretty tough.”