Kiandra Powell called it “redemption” while the rest of her Kaneland teammates simply labeled it a game-winner.
It took a harrowing 28:37 to become the official difference in Thursday’s 2-1 victory over DeKalb in a critical Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference showdown of teams on a roll.
The Knights (13-2, 4-1), who claimed a 1-0 home nail-biter over DeKalb 23 days earlier, picked up their eighth consecutive victory by ending a five-game win streak for the host Barbs (10-6, 2-3).
Having rallied for a 1-1 halftime deadlock, Kaneland remained on the attack, and 8:37 into the second half, Holly Collingbourne’s pass was between Powell and a DeKalb defender when the Knight junior bulled ahead to blast a 10-yarder past Lauren Hagelstein for her team-high 11th goal.
“As soon as I was able to kick it I was going for the corner. I wanted redemption for (a previous) one I put over the goal,” Powell said. “It was kind of a shock for us to start off behind, so having tied it, we came out fired up for the second half.”
That’s when the Knights registered 10 of their 15 shots and seven of their 11 shots on goal. Kaneland finished with a 15-8 advantage in shots, including 11-2 on goal.
“Both teams created some good opportunities and it came down to them finishing one more than we did,” DeKalb coach P.J. Hamilton said.
Despite facing into a northwesterly win, Kaneland’s Emily Grams put a shot off the crossbar midway through the first half before DeKalb scored 19:36 before halftime. Sam Myers-Miller set up McKenna Wallin for an eight-yard strike from the left side.
But it took less than seven minutes for Kaneland to get the equalizer thanks to Courtney Diddell’s 10th goal, a blistering 15-yarder from the far right that caromed off Hagelstein and into the net.
“As soon as they scored, it was like, ‘Oh shoot, we gotta get even.’ Sometimes fighting for a tie is harder than getting a lead,” Diddell said. “To be honest, I was trying to cross to a teammate, but I guess it was curving so much to the inside that it ricocheted off her just right.”
Midway through the second half, a foul gave DeKalb a corner kick-like direct kick from the right side that Knights goalkeeper Emily Chapman jumped to haul in. Eight minutes later, the Barbs’ Caitlyn Hottsmith bulldozed her way forward for a shot that rattled the crossbar.
“This type of match isn’t good for my health,” Kaneland coach Scott Parillo said. “You want adversity until you get it. On the one hand this is what you need to get prepared for regional play, on the other you worry about every play because if you don’t do something right, they’ll score for sure.”
Nemeth is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.