By: Roger Mies tied the match for the Blueboys in the 72nd minute, but Lake Forest answered two minutes later for the game-winning goal.
Box Score LAKE FOREST, Ill. – A resolute effort from the Illinois College men's soccer team failed to earn the Blueboys any points on the road on Sunday as IC fell to Lake Forest by a score of 2-1. Trailing for almost the entirety of the match, Illinois College leveled the contest in the 72nd minute, only to see the Foresters go back on top two minutes later and hold on for the win. The Blueboys sink to 9-5-1 (3-3-1 Midwest Conference), while Lake Forest improves to 10-5-0 (5-2-0 MWC). IC is now five points back of the Foresters and Grinnell College for a MWC Tournament bid with three conference matches remaining.
Illinois College was forced into an uncomfortable situation very early on in the contest. On one end of the field,
Joe Tooley forced a save from Lake Forest keeper Josh Geiger in the second minute. Quickly back the other way, the Foresters pounced on their first opportunity of the match to find the back of the net courtesy of Dylan Hartman to take a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Lake Forest ended the first half with a 9-7 edge in shots, but the Blueboys remained only one goal behind and made Geiger work to keep his clean sheet as
Alex Gardner,
Austin Cearlock,
Justin Hill and
Frankie Copado all registered shots on goal.
In the early going of the second half, it was
Ty Clearwater's play in the IC goal that kept the Blueboys in it. He made a save immediately in the first minute following the restart and later added another in the 62nd minute. Illinois College finally broke through with a long-range missile off the foot of
Roger Mies in the 72nd minute, the first of the season for the sophomore.
The Blueboy celebration unfortunately didn't last long. Lake Forest made four substitutions when play resumed and three of those new players on the field combined for the winning goal in the 74th minute. Gaston Aubert headed in a cross from Sal Gloria on the right wing to stake the Foresters to another lead. With time working against Illinois College, the Blueboys couldn't land another shot on target in the dying minutes of the match.
Clearwater ended the day with seven saves. Mies, Gardner, Copado and
Brock Chartier all had two shots each for the Blueboys.
Illinois College returns home on Oct. 24 to play Grinnell at 5:30 p.m. at England Stadium following the conclusion of the women's match before it. It will be Senior Day for nine members of the Blueboy team.
