By: Touted as the “MWC Game of the Week” just days prior, the matchup between IC and Carroll lived up to its advance billing.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's soccer team reached the halfway point of the Midwest Conference season on Saturday in a 1-1 draw against Carroll University at England Stadium. With more than half the conference still very much in the hunt for the four MWC Tournament spots, it was an important point for the Blueboys to pick up against the team that went to bed on Saturday night with the conference lead. Illinois College moves to 9-3-1 (3-1-1 MWC) and has 10 points on the season, while Carroll moves to 5-5-2 (4-1-1 MWC) and ends the night one point ahead of Knox for the overall lead in the MWC.
In the early going, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Illinois College jumped on top. The Blueboys were pressing high up the field and giving the Pioneers problems from the start. An 11th-minute free kick by
Austin Cearlock had Carroll goalkeeper Brady Smith reaching to keep the match level on a hard-hit shot after a Pioneer foul. Later on,
Jordan Blair went high for a header on an
Alex Gardner free kick, but his forceful shot went to the right of the goal.
The 30th minute substitution of Tyler Coenen proved important for Carroll as he would be on the field less than five minutes before putting his team in front. Seconds after a corner kick by the Pioneers, Coenen banged a shot against the left post but the rebound came right back to him and he was able to recover quickly enough to head it past a sprawling
Ty Clearwater to give Carroll a 1-0 lead at halftime.
Illinois College didn't have much in the way of a response for the first 20 minutes of the second half, but all it took was one excellent shot to bring the match square.
Joe Tooley drove through the teeth of the Carroll defense before leaving a ball off to Gardner just outside the 18-yard box. Gardner let the ball run past him just enough to get it on his right leg, then put his laces through it and hit it low and hard to the lower left corner, beating Smith to tie the match at 1-1.
In the overtime session, Carroll hit both the post and the crossbar, but couldn't find a way to get anything past Clearwater into the back of the net. A shot by
Roger Mies late in the second overtime was saved by Smith to assure the teams of the tie. Clearwater ended the match with three saves in 110 minutes of action between the posts.
Illinois College will be looking to nab three points on the road next weekend when the Blueboys face Beloit College on Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. The weekend will end with a 1:30 p.m. match with Lake Forest College on Oct. 18.
