By: Tied 0-0 at the half, the Lady Blues scored just over a minute into the second half and got an insurance goal before the match was an hour old to secure a 2-0 victory.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The race for a berth in the Midwest Conference Women's Soccer Tournament has increasingly become a case of haves and have-nots this season. Six of the MWC's 10 teams have separated themselves from the bottom of the pack and with a 2-0 win over Beloit College on Sunday afternoon, the Illinois College women's soccer team remained firmly entrenched in that top group. The victory by IC improves the Lady Blues to 7-7-1 (4-3-0 MWC) on the year, while Beloit drops to 3-8-0 (1-5-0 MWC).
The win was far tougher than the final score indicated. In a very back-and-forth first half, Beloit had 11 shots while Illinois College had 10. The Lady Blues put five shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes, but Olivia Nasatir made the stop on each one. In the other goal,
Charlotte Crofton made two saves to keep Beloit off the board.
The Lady Blues wasted no time coming out of the locker rooms, taking a 1-0 lead on the first shot of the second half.
Kaylen Sims fed ahead to
Ashley Sholmire and her shot to the top corner finally beat Nasatir to put IC in front.
Ten minutes later, Illinois College would have its second. An
Ally Kjellander corner kick found the head of
Audrey Gangwish and the freshman nodded in at the far post for her first collegiate goal.
After that, it was all about the play of Crofton. The freshman goalkeeper made six saves in the second half to earn the shutout and ensure Illinois College of a vital three points in the MWC standings.
Illinois College will step away from conference play on Oct. 20 for a meeting with Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. beginning at 5 p.m.
