Women’s Soccer Blanks St. Norbert, 2-0

Box Score

DE PERE, Wis. – Two second half goals – one apiece from Sarah Skaggs and Ashley Sholmire – lifted the Illinois College women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over St. Norbert on Sunday afternoon. Cat Solberg made eight saves in goal for the Lady Blues to pick up her fifth shutout of the season and help improve IC to 7-3-1, matching the team's win total from all of last season.

An evenly-matched first half ended goalless, though each team made plenty of chances on their respective offensive ends. St. Norbert managed seven shots to six for the Lady Blues, but Solberg and her counterpart, Sarah Platzer, made two saves apiece to get to halftime without conceding. 

Skaggs broke the deadlock in the 56th minute with a rocket to the roof of the net from 30 yards out, beating Platzer and giving Illinois College a 1-0 lead. Settling the ball and stepping confidently into the shot despite defensive pressure, the goal was the first game-winner of the season for the senior. Though the Green Knights pressed for the tying score, Solberg stepped her game up even more in the second half with six saves to keep the Lady Blues in the lead. 

The knockout came for IC in the 84th minute with Sholmire keeping her composure and finishing after Platzer allowed a rebound off an initial shot from Skaggs. Ahead by a pair of goals, IC cruised to the finish.

"I'm really proud of the effort the team had to come away with four points from this weekend," said Head Coach Linda Hamilton. "Coming off of overtime yesterday, we knew today was going to be a tough match against a team that historically has done well against us. It feels good to give this group of seniors a win over St. Norbert and it puts us in a good position going forward."

The next four matches for Illinois College will be back home at England Stadium. The first comes on Oct. 8 as Monmouth makes the trip south to face the Lady Blues at 7 p.m.