Leah Bellock’s ‘energy’ insurance goal takes St. Charles North beyond St. Charles East – Shaw Local

GENEVA — A modification to Leah Bellock’s left hip won’t stop her from playing physical football.

“Honestly, I always go. I don’t like to sit. I just like to carry on,” Bellock said after St. Charles North’s 2-0 victory over St. Charles East on April 26 at the Tri-City Soccer Night “I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m limping a bit. Honestly, I couldn’t miss a game like this.”

[ Photos: St. Charles East vs. St. Charles North soccer ]

Bellock, a St. Charles North senior, took advantage of a three-way collision between two St. Charles East defenders and goalkeeper Sidney Lazenby with 19:37 left in the first half on a Sophia Hein cross to give the North Stars (11-2, 3-0) the insurance goal they needed to secure their second regular-season win over the Saints (13-3, 3-1).

Bellock nicked his hip about a week and a half ago but pushed it on adrenaline to give the North Stars a steady boost.

“Leah is such a spark plug for us,” North Stars coach Brian Harks said. “She’s a player who I think creates a lot of energy, whether it’s getting stuck on tackles, getting the baseline when we ask her to or finding the back of the net when the situation calls for it. is calling in. She really got stronger today.

“A lot of girls played very well. I thought our back line and really our defensive pressure through the 11 positions was quality today. I think the girls rose to the challenge. St. Charles East is really good offensively so it was good to keep the shutout.

Julianna Park scored the North Stars’ first goal in traffic.

The North Stars’ defensive prowess shone throughout both halves.

“[Senior defender] Sidney Timms, honestly, she’s just an amazing player,” Bellock said. “And a good teammate overall. She holds this back line on her side very well. Bullets do not pass through it.

Lazenby and Sofia Iori shared goalkeeping duties for the Saints in the first and second half, respectively. Lazenby made two saves. Iori had one.

“We’re still getting back to where we want to be,” St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “In the first half, [the North Stars] were just better than us in just about every aspect of the game. They looked like they wanted a little more and it showed in the score line.

“Some unusual errors playing from the back, a dangerous ball through. Kudos to them because good teams find a way to win and they have found a way to win. In my opinion, none of their goals were phenomenal, but good research teams found a way to achieve a result and they did.