NORTHBROOK – Rochelle Zell didn’t let the elements distract it Sunday morning.

The Tigers met rival Ida Crown for a 10 a.m. start to the Chicago Prep Conference battle. Though the game was moved up four hours from its original start time, it couldn’t fool Mother Nature. A nonstop rain – aside from a seven-minute respite early in the second half – drenched players, coaches and a large crowd at Techny Park.

Rochelle Zell kept at its business and didn’t disappoint their supporters. The Tigers scored two goals in the first half and cruised to a 3-0 victory over Ida Crown.

On Monday, the Tigers continued their stellar play with a resounding 8-0 Senior Day win over Wolcott to improve to 6-3-0 and 2-1-0 on the season.

Rochelle Zell senior midfielder Ahava Cohen said the Tigers had the perfect blend of enthusiasm, energy and motivation in the win over Ida Crown.

“I think we played really well and a had a lot of communication and passing,” she said. “We really put it all out there. Our goalie also played well. We had good energy out on the field and were really supportive. I know a lot of girls on their team. Our main source of motivation was to get this win over them.”

Rochelle Zell junior forward Elana Cohen, the Chicagoland MVP of the Match, was too fast, too strong and too powerful for Ida Crown on Sunday. She scored two goals, notching the opening goal and adding an extra insurance goal late in the second half.  Cohen said the entire team stepped up to get the conference victory.

“Our season is going really good so far,” Elana Cohen said. “This season everyone is taking everything seriously. We’re a very good team collectively. In the past, we’ve been very good individually, but this year we’re putting everything together.”

Rochelle Zell coach David Martinez heaped praise on the fans and family members for supporting his team during the downpour. Several of his boys soccer players also attended Sunday’s wet game. They witnessed a strong performance from the blue and white.

“We haven’t played a game since March 28, so that was a lot of days off, and we didn’t know what to expect,” Martinez said. “I think the key for the team today was they came ready. They came to warm up, were passing the ball. 

“When the game started, we were not on our heels. We came out strong, and we stuck with it for a full 80 minutes, which was great to see. We started having more of an attack in the second half, but credit to their keeper for having some great saves. 

“We will probably play Ida Crown again in the conference tournament, so we have to make sure we play hard the rest of this week. The tournament starts next week.”

Elana Cohen provided a ray of sunshine for the Tigers’ faithful when she got her team on the scoreboard with long shot for a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.

“I kind of just kicked the ball,” Cohen said. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in, because it was far off to the left. I got a lucky hit. It felt really good, because it brought our energy up and got us going.”

Throughout the game, Cohen was a problem for Ida Crown’s backline. In the 62nd minute, she found a way hit the net again. Dribbling along the sideline, she decided to loft a long, curving ball into the strong wind. It found paydirt. Right before her brace, she drilled a shot that hit the crossbar and was then saved by Ida Crown reserve keeper Eliya Sander.

“When I’m dribbling down the line, I kind of just try and cross it. And they sometimes just go in,” Cohen said. “This season, the wind has been on my side a lot, so that’s been lucky.”

Rochelle Zell senior forward Becca Berkeley, a two-time Chicagoland Soccer Little All-State selection, scored the second goal of the game. After taking a pass from Ahava Cohen and dribbling the ball 35 yards, she made a left-to-right move to free herself up before tapping in a short shot in the 31st minute.

“I was really thinking the goalie was going to come out at me at any moment,” Berkeley said. “I knew I had to really pick a side and go with it, and it worked out. It feels so good to win this. We came out here and wanted to dominate and show them we can perform and do well.”

With just one save needed for the shutout, Rochelle Zell keeper Eliyah Hammel had a lot of down time. Late in the second half, she worked on her conditioning by sprinting back and forth several times in 15-yard segments. 

Ida Crown did showcase an aggressive spurt in the first 10 minutes of the second half, attempting three corner kicks to threaten Hammel. In the first half, Rochelle Zell dominated possession time.

“I did that to be warm. When I don’t have a chance to be active during a game, that’s what I do,” she said, smiling. “It feels really good to get a clean-sheet and to go into the next game with a good mindset. It was being able to communicate with our team and making sure we were marking up and staying mindful of every player doing their job, so we don’t give up a goal.”

Ida Crown coach Leo Rodriguez said his team couldn’t recover from the early two-goal deficit. The Aces (5-3-0, 4-2-0) did play strong for most of the second half of their final conference match of the season. That encouraged the coach.

“I thought it was a pretty good and solid game,” Rodriguez said. “I thought it should’ve been 1-0. We should’ve kept it closer. We had a couple of defensive mistakes and errors that led to some bad goals. We will see them next week, so we’re pretty excited. 

“This happens every year, we lose to them in the regular-season. … It’s a learning experience. We have to definitely stay focused and sharper, and try and figure out how to create moving forward. A lot of times we got the ball and were playing kickball with them. We weren’t playing our game too much. We have to play our game. We will learn from this game.”

Ida Crown goalie Rena Neiger said Rochelle Zell played with more vigor throughout the game.

“This is a very good Rochelle Zell team,” Neiger said. “(Elana Cohen) is really good. She had a good game. Defensively, we couldn’t keep up with them. They’re very fast and skilled. 

“I think we could’ve stopped one of their goals, especially on the breakaway. I think we could’ve kept this game closer. But Rochelle Zell is a very good team. They had the ball on their offensive side most of the game.”
 

Starting lineups

Ida Crown
GK: Rena Neiger
D: Ayelet Appel
D: Jordana Zwelling
D: Hadar Simkovich
D: Mia Weiss
MF: Ella Perlman
MF: Daria Lennon
MF: Ella Kakon
F: Ilana Schwartz
F: Leeya Starck
F: Talia Linzer
 
Rochelle Zell
GK: Eliyah Hammel
D: Sarena Sklar
D: Meira Lieberman
D: Michaela Halpern
D: Issy Wolle
MF: Eliana Shapira
MF: Moriya Mlotek
MF: Ahava Cohen
MF: Abby Singer
F: Becca Berkeley
F: Elana Cohen
 
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Elana Cohen, jr., F, Rochelle Zell

 
Scoring summary
 
First half
Rochelle Zell: Elana Cohen (unassisted), 12’
Rochelle Zell: Berkeley (Ahava Cohen), 31’
 
Second half
Rochelle Zell: Elana Cohen (unassisted), 62’