Dixon dominant in Big Northern Conference win over North Boone

DIXON – Halfway through the schedule, Dixon’s offense was in midseason form Tuesday afternoon at A.C. Bowers Field.

Freshman Jenna Harrison had four goals and an assist just 11 minutes into the game and finished with a hat trick and a brace for a five-goal day – also known as a ‘glut’ – as the Duchesses rolled past North Boone 9-0 for their first Big Northern Conference win.

[ Photos of Dixon vs. North Boone girls soccer ]

“We kind of knew what we had to do before we started, and I think our front line does well working together,” forward Rachel Lance said. “The key is just communication and getting everybody involved, getting balls through the defense.”

Harrison started the scoring just 2:20 into the game, booting a corner kick into the box in front of the goal before Makenzie Toms corralled it and passed it back out to Harrison on the left side to set up a pretty curling kick past the goalkeeper.

She notched an assist less than five minutes later, making a run down the right side before centering a pass to Lance, who pushed it past the keeper for a 2-0 lead with 32:56 left in the half.

Harrison added the next two goals on breakaways at the 31:13 and 29:55 marks, after North Boone turnovers deep in its end. Then, just 40 seconds later, she took a Micki Worrell pass right up the middle of the field for a 5-0 lead.

After that, she became a facilitator by setting up her teammates in a position to score.

“We know how to work together as a team and get the ball up and create opportunities to score,” Harrison said. “At some point, you kind of feel a little guilty and selfish [scoring a lot of goals], so it’s good to assist other people and get them going. They’ve assisted you, so I like to give it back to them.”

Lance added another assist on a goal by Leah Stees with 19:42 left in the half, then Worrell scored off a Meredith Foulker assist just 2:20 later for a 7-0 lead.

Lance again found Harrison with 16:05 remaining, before CJ Frey scored her first career goal on a penalty kick with 6:28 left in the half, following a hand ball in the box.

“It feels good to get everybody involved, and it’s fun when we play as a team like this,” Lance said. “I think coming out and scoring early, it makes us more comfortable once we get a couple of goals in. Just coming out and dominating from the start, not letting up, that’s big for us.”

Per IHSA mercy rules, the 9-0 halftime lead meant the second half was not played.

Dixon (6-4-1, 1-1 BNC) finished with a 33-2 shot advantage, including 24-1 on goal. The Duchesses had 12 corner kicks to none for the Vikings.

North Boone keeper Addison Silvers made 14 saves, while Dixon starter Zoey Williams did not make any. Kamille Prather played the last five minutes of the half in goal and made one save ... off her forehead.

“Our defense did a great job. It wouldn’t be a zero [on the scoreboard] without them,” Harrison said. “Shout out to them for the shutout.”

The Duchesses now have 35 goals in 11 games after scoring 37 all of last season. It’s the third game where they’ve scored at least six times, and this one should give them even more confidence going forward.

“It gives us a good game to build on, especially winning at home,” said Harrison, who has 19 goals in the first 11 games of her career. “It feels good when you don’t have to play another 40 minutes [in the second half]. That’s always nice to save some energy for the next game.”