By Randy Whalen

The transition from JV to varsity as a sophomore usually takes time. 

Not for Maylen Gomez. 

The Joliet Central sophomore forward has jumped headfirst into the varsity team. How much so? She has 12 goals in the Steelmen's first six games.

"Not really," Gomez answered when asked if she expected this output in her initial varsity season. "But I worked hard to get to this level."

Yes, she did, and that hard work continued to pay off in the Steelmen's most recent game. That was a 3-0 home victory on Monday, March 30, over Shepard. Gomez garnered another hat trick in the game, her third of the season.

"In our previous game, she had five goals," Joliet Central coach Stephanie Phillips said. "Last year, she was a star player on the JV and led the team in goals. She stepped up in tryouts this spring and definitely earned her spot."

Gomez certainly has, as she scored 4 goals when Joliet Central first played Shepard. That was in a 5-1 victory on Thursday, March 19, as part of the Windy City Classic, which Reavis hosts. Her five tallies came on Saturday, March 28, in a 9-0 win over host Crete-Monee.

In the latest win over Shepard (2-4), Gomez looked like she might score five times again. She got the scoring started on an unassisted goal just 80 seconds into the game. Almost exactly 6 minutes later, she added another. That came off an assist by sophomore midfielder Jocelyn Morales and made it 2-0 with 32:41 left in the first half.

The score was still 2-0 at halftime, but the action picked up in the second half. Although the Steelmen were going against the wind, they picked it up on the attack. Senior midfielders Ariadna Arciniega and Metzli Salomon, along with junior midfielder Fatima Arriaga and Morales, all had good opportunities.

Arriaga's attempt, in particular, was very good. But Shepard junior keeper Mariah Perkins came out to make a save with 3:03 to play in the game. 

But she couldn't corral Gomez's final shot as the sophomore completed her hat trick on a header with just 53.7 seconds to play. Arriaga had the assist. 

The Steelmen's defense did another nice job, holding Shepard to only a handful of shots.

"This year we have seen more of a connection on each line of defense," Phillips said. "We've been able to hold the line back there, and this was our second shutout."

Galilea Delgado, a junior, is a big part of that defense. She was named the MVP in the Shepard match. 

"I feel like it's because our defense has learned to work better together, Delgado said. "The attitude we have is making us get better. I see the potential of all of our underclassmen on the team. This was a nice win and will give us confidence."

The Astro's best opportunity came off the foot of freshman Alessandra Sanchez with 14 minutes to play. But it was turned back by junior keeper Cali Judd. 

Judd made four saves in goal to register her first solo shutout of the season. She had combined with senior Paola Coss to blank Crete-Monee in the previous game. 

"We never give up, and we want to stay strong," said Judd, who is in her third varsity season and is also a middle hitter on the volleyball team. "We had a really good game on (the previous) Saturday, and it's a really good start to the season. If we do make a mistake, we know it's OK. We will get better."

Joliet Central (3-3) was shut out in its three losses. But with Gomez going wild on scoring, the team should compete in its games all season. 

After an 8-day break, the Steelmen are back in action this week. The Southwest Prairie Conference opener at home on Tuesday, April 7, at 5 PM against Plainfield South. Two days later, they travel to Minooka for another SPC matchup. 

"Fatima had a nice volley," said Gomez of Arriaga's assist on her third goal. "It's really big. It feels great, and we just want to keep getting better."