By: An 80th minute free kick from Ashley Riley gave the Lady Blues all they would need in a 1-0 defeat of Fontbonne in IC’s home opener.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – After spending the first three matches away from home, Wednesday night was a welcome return to campus for the Illinois College women's soccer team. After holding firm throughout the night against a Fontbonne University squad on the defensive end, IC finally was rewarded in the 80th minute as
Ashley Riley converted a free kick for the game-winner. With the win, the Lady Blues improve to 4-0-0 on the season, while Fontbonne drops to 4-1-0.
Early on, Fontbonne was the team on the front foot, nearly going ahead inside of four minutes after Ashlynn Reiter had a chance to put the Griffins ahead after a soft turnover from Illinois College. Fortunately,
Cat Solberg was quick off her line and forced Reiter's effort to sail high over the bar. The Griffins continued to push the attack over the first 20 minutes, but IC was able to withstand it and then nearly took the lead, only for
Rebecca Morris' shot to hit off the left post.
After a scoreless first half and little to show for either team past the hour mark, the match began to get stretched as the second half wore on. In the 68th minute, Fontbonne's Kayla Thorpe launched a shot from inside the box but Solberg was well-positioned for the save and, just as importantly, didn't allow a rebound with another Griffin attacker lurking nearby. Quickly back down on the other end,
Bianca Savarese stormed forward and tried to chip Fontbonne keeper Tayler Pulvirenti, only for Pulvirenti to just get the slightest of touches on the shot to keep it out.
The breakthrough came in the 80th minute after a foul put IC in position to take a shot from 25 yards out. Riley was able to curl the ball around the wall and into the lower left corner, barely drawing a save attempt from the beaten Fontbonne keeper. From there, the Lady Blues controlled the closing stages and didn't even allow another Griffin shot attempt the rest of the way.
Solberg made two saves in the contest to improve her season record to 2-0-0. Savarese and Morris each had two shots in the game.
The home stand continues for the Lady Blues with two more matches in the next five days. IC welcomes in Concordia University (Chicago) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the men's contest. Then on Monday, Benedictine University (Springfield) pays a visit to England Stadium at 7 p.m.
