Audrey Stephens never lost her faith.
East Aurora took West Aurora to the brink. The Tomcats seemed quicker and more aggressive in tracking every ball.
Stephens said West Aurora just needed to locate its rhythm.
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“I personally think we are a second-half team,” Stephens said.
Stephens scored two goals and Riley O’Brien engineered two goals off set pieces Tuesday as visiting West Aurora rallied for the 4-2 victory over East Aurora in Upstate Eight Valley play.
A sophomore forward, Audrey Stephens is the heir apparent with her older sister Katharine Stephens now at Loyola.
“She was our main scorer and now that she is gone I feel like that is my job,” Audrey Stephens said. “The team looks for me to score.”
Stephens has a team-best seven goals.
West Aurora (4-5-2, 1-0-1) also turned to the creativity of senior midfielder O’Brien in launching its comeback.
East Aurora (5-5-1, 0-2) impressed behind the electric play of freshman forward Edith Delgado and senior midfielder Marubeni Nieto.
They scored a goal each in propelling the Tomcats to the 2-1 halftime advantage.
“It was a great experience,” Delgado said of playing in her first rivalry game against the Blackhawks. “We got tired in the second half. I thought we could have given them a better battle. It’s exciting that this is just the beginning for a lot of us.”
In the 44th minute, O’Brien made a hustle play in generating a corner kick by knocking a ball off an East Aurora defender. She then assisted as senior forward Marlene Sanchez scored on a header for a 2-2 tie.
The Blackhawks seized the momentum and the lead on junior midfielder Lexi Juarez’s volley inside the box initiated by an O’Brien corner kick in the 68th minute.
“Those set pieces really got me going,” O’Brien said. “I just know if I put it in the correct spot they will finish them off. I knew our team needed that after we were struggling playing off each other.”
Stephens scored an insurance goal less than a minute later. O’Brien instigated the sequence by driving a ball that sophomore midfielder Kiara McPherson slotted for Stephens.
“Once we got that third goal we kept shooting,” Stephens said. “I think we realized the fourth one would come.”
West Aurora sophomore goalkeeper Samara Martinez punctuated the win with a spectacular denial of East Aurora junior forward Jennifer Garcia in the 73rd minute.
East Aurora senior goalkeeper Daisy Quinonez had seven saves.
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.