Girls Soccer

BELVIDERE – Sycamore prepared for a smaller, football-sized field at Belvidere. The Spartans shifted their formation, as they had done earlier in the season, to get used to playing in tighter quarters on a narrow pitch.

SYCAMORE – Freeport girls soccer coach Nick Namio calls Sycamore coach Dave Lichamer one of his favorite coaches to talk to before a game.

DeKALB – Emma Floit made up her mind. She had to get off a shot.

DeKALB – Thanks to a Kelli Cardine blast in the 116th minute of Wednesday’s 1-0, quadruple-overtime win over Hampshire, the DeKalb girls soccer team will have a rematch with Sycamore in Friday’s Class 2A DeKalb Regional championship game.

BURLINGTON – Jordan Ginther gathered her Kaneland girls soccer teammates near midfield during an injury stoppage late in Wednesday’s match.

Tyler Burger managed to pick up the win and the save in the Hiawatha baseball team’s 12-11 win against Earlville-Leland in the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Regional quarterfinals on Monday.

There are great athletes.

The Genoa-Kingston baseball team swept a doubleheader against Plano on Saturday, winning the first game, 11-7, and the second, 7-6.

GENOA – Too many injuries. Too many options taken away. And too much talent from St. Edward.

HINCKLEY – It was clear when overtime started in the Hinckley-Big Rock girls soccer team’s Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Regional final game against Lisle that the tide had turned.

DeKalb-Sycamore II would have changes

The Kaneland baseball team clinched a share of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference title with a 4-2 win against Morris on Wednesday.

GENOA – Shannon Schumacher could only throw her hands up to describe how open Ixtel Viramontes was 10 minutes into the second half against Westminster Christian.

One run, no hits, one balk.

Few teams in the area, regardless of sport, have transformed more drastically from last season to this one than the Kaneland girls soccer program.

HINCKLEY – The Hinckley-Big Rock girls soccer team struggled against stiff competition recently, especially in a five-goal loss to Kaneland a week ago.

DeKALB – Michelle Doran didn’t feel like she had any time.

Jessica Coia had a hat trick in the Kaneland girls soccer team’s 7-0 win over Morris. Madi Jurcenko and Brittany Olson each scored twice for the Knights (9-4-1, 4-2-1 Northern Illinois Big 12).

If Sycamore soccer player Sarah Papini loses the ball, she knows the game could be lost.

On a typical day this spring, DeKalb junior Danielle Dlabal heads to the track after school at 2:45 p.m. and runs a workout with her fellow distance runners, with whom she qualified for the state cross country meet.

The DeKalb girls track team finished in fourth place at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference track meet on Friday, scoring 66 points.

Katherine Kohler scored on an assist from Emma Norris, and Lauren Miller scored on a penalty kick in the Sycamore girls soccer team’s 2-0 win against Kaneland on Thursday.

SPOTLIGHT ON ...

HINCKLEY – For the past few weeks, Kaneland girls soccer practice has focused on one thing.

DeKalb’s Jaylaan Slaughter set a school record in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 26.07 seconds, to lead the DeKalb girls track team to a 71-45 victory against Sycamore on Tuesday.

The DeKalb baseball team lost to Yorkville, 6-4, on Monday.

The Hinckley-Big Rock baseball team improved to 17-9 and 11-1 in the Little Ten Conference with a 17-5 win over Newark on Friday.

DeKALB – DeKalb girls soccer coach Phil Rouse said the call was obvious, but from Alli Smith’s position down the field it looked like the Barbs had let the lead slip away with 33 minutes remaining in their biggest game of the season.

Thursday, the IHSA released the seeds for the Class 2A state girls soccer tournament. Here is how the local teams were seeded.

SPOTLIGHT ON ...

Trevor Storck threw a complete game Tuesday for the Kaneland baseball team in a 3-2 win over Yorkville. He gave up six hits and walked a hitter while striking out two, improving his record to 4-0.

SYCAMORE – Emma Norris noticed a trend. So did Sycamore girls soccer coach Dave Lichamer. Forward Michelle Doran did, too.

Indian Creek pitcher Dillon Martenson threw a no-hitter Monday in a 6-0 victory over Newark.

GENOA – Hinckley-Big Rock girls soccer coach Paul Taeuber sat down Lauren Paver early in his team’s 3-1 win against Genoa-Kingston on Monday.

DeKALB – Dani Howard buried a shot in the fifth round of a penalty kick shootout to lead the DeKalb girls soccer team to a 1-0 win against Burlington Central in the Barbfest tournament championship game Saturday at DeKalb.

Matt Godinsky hit a two-run home run, and John Beaudoin added a solo shot to give the Sycamore baseball team a 5-4 victory against Morris on Thursday.

The IHSA released the seeds Thursday for the Class 1A girls soccer state tournament. Here's where the area teams are seeded:

SPOTLIGHT ON ...

WATERMAN – Luke Anderson liked what he saw for about 75 minutes.

The Genoa-Kingston baseball team took the lead in the sixth inning Wednesday but lost, 6-5, to Rock Falls.

Adam Price threw a complete game, striking out 10 and walking only two in a 5-4 win for the Genoa-Kingston baseball team Tuesday against North Boone.

MAPLE PARK – Brittany Olson wanted to prove something Tuesday.

The Sycamore baseball team hit back-to-back-to-back home runs on Monday against Morris, but lost, 12-7.

DeKalb's Shaun Johnson threw a no-hitter to lead the DeKalb baseball team to an 11-0, six-inning victory against Belvidere on Saturday.

Barbs win 7-0 and 9-0 to start tournament

Christian Johnson struck out nine and allowed only five hits in a 9-6, complete-game victory for the Hinckley-Big Rock baseball team against Serena on Thursday.

Sycamore’s girls soccer team got four goals from Megan Ericson and the Spartans cruised to a 10-0 victory against Rochelle on Wednesday.

Spotlight on ...

Delani Vest threw a complete-game shutout, striking out eight as the Kaneland softball team defeated Sycamore, 2-0, on Tuesday.

Cory Bradburn threw a complete game and struck out 12, and Hinckley-Big Rock scored four runs on bunts in a 10-1 win against Indian Creek on Monday to open Little Ten Conference baseball play.