Blink and you’ll miss it.
Evanston’s attack, led by seniors Jocelyn Leigh, Sydney Ross and Lucy Fredrickson, was a force to be reckoned with on a blustery Tuesday night at Lazier Field, dismantling the Maine South defense in a 6-0 beat-down.
Tuesday was the conference opener for both teams, with Evanston (10-0-1, 1-0 CSL) looking to build on its momentum from a dominant start to the season against a Maine South team (8-5-1, 0-1 CSL) that had lost its previous two.
The start time—originally 7 p.m.—was moved up to 6:30 p.m. to avoid an oncoming thunderstorm. The last-minute adjustment didn’t affect the Kits in the slightest, as they cruised out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes on goals from Leigh and Ross.
Leigh was far from finished, scoring a second goal midway through the first half and a third with 13:04 remaining in the half to push the lead to 4-0. For Leigh, a physical and dynamic winger who is committed to play at Loyola-Chicago next year, scoring hasn’t come as easily as she might have expected this year… until Tuesday.
“I felt kinda like myself again, getting over the hump and just playing,” Leigh said.
Head coach Stacy Salgado saw a poised Leigh and a midfield that succeeded at pushing the ball forward and controlling possession.
“I think [Leigh is] confident in her shot,” Salgado noted. “She put away three great opportunities finishing the play, and they all came from different places, just taking care of business up there.”
With 11:53 remaining in the first half, Lucy Fredrickson tacked on the Kits’ fifth goal on a corner kick header.
“Lucy’s goal was amazing,” Leigh said. “I just love seeing it.”
However, while the onslaught was enjoyable for the home faithful, the first drops of rain splashed to the turf right before halftime and lightning flashed at the break, forcing the teams into their respective locker rooms.
The delay extended well past the allotted 10-minute halftime, with the teams finally retaking the field at 8 p.m. to the cheers of a smaller but lively group of supporters.
Evanston remained dominant to start the second half, controlling the tempo and stifling the Maine South offense to the tune of zero shots on goal.
With 31:33 remaining, the Kits turned in the play of the day, with junior Maddy Varela delivering a dime to freshman Alexandra Merriam on the wing. Merriam took the ball through the middle and into the box before it fell at the feet of winger Bridget Durkin, who snuck the ball under the Hawks keeper’s outstretched glove.
“Our transitions were good. We used our strength, we used our width and we got forward quickly,” Salgado said.
Four minutes after Durkin’s goal, the inevitable flash of lightning lit up the sky once again, prompting the referee to blow an early final whistle.
The Kits will take their in-conference momentum into a rivalry match at New Trier on Saturday afternoon.
