Coming in to Tuesday’s match with Joliet Catholic on a three-game losing streak, frustrations mounted for Minooka when it couldn’t convert on any of a bevy of scoring chances in the first half.
Five second-half goals later, the Indians were all smiles.
Jill Hetfleisch led the way with a phenomenal performance, finishing with a hat trick and two assists as Minooka earned a 5-1 win at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
Hetfleisch hit the crossbar on one shot and hit the side of the net on another in the first half as Minooka came up empty on six shots and the game was scoreless at the break.
“It was so frustrating,” Hetfleisch said. “It felt so good to finally get some goals in the second half. It’ll give us a lot of confidence. We know that we can score now.”
Laura Simon got the Indians (3-3) on the board 10 minutes into the second half, heading home Hetfleisch’s cross off a corner kick.
“It was a perfect pass,” Simon said. “I couldn’t have done it without Jill. We got going after that goal. We just needed the confidence.”
The floodgates opened from there. 88 seconds later, Hetfleisch scored on a free kick from 45 yards out on a shot that she said “the wind just carried over the goalie’s head and right in.”
The Indians connected on another set piece to go up 3-0 as Marisol Galvan headed in Hetfleisch’s corner kick.
Hetfleisch added two more goals on terrific individual efforts before Andriana Acosta got Joliet Catholic (2-2) on the board.
“Jill is our playmaker,” Minooka coach Chris Brolley said. “She’s fun to watch.
“We knew we had to be more aggressive on set pieces. When you can score off those, you calm down and can just play your game.”
Lily Benig made three saves for the Indians. Lena Rodriguez had six saves for the Angels.
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