By: The 2-1 final did not tell the whole story on Sunday as the Blueboys outshot Lawrence by a 19-1 margin.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Final scores in soccer can be tricky. On the surface, the Illinois College men's soccer victory over Lawrence University by a score of 2-1 might look like a closely-contested match. Dig deeper and IC's dominance is apparent. The Blueboys took the lead in the fourth minute and ended up outshooting the Vikings by a count of 19-1. The lone LU goal came on a questionable penalty late in the match, but Illinois College held on to improve to 5-5-0 (1-1-0 Midwest Conference). The Vikings sink to 1-7-0 (0-2-0 MWC) with the loss.
The game-winner came quickly.
Jonny Inez-Rodriguez took possession on top of the 18-yard box and danced through a bevy of flat-footed Lawrence defenders before beating Julian Riviere into the left corner for a 1-0 lead. Though the Blueboys would account for all 12 of the shots taken in the first half, Riviere ended up making seven shots to keep the match close.
With as much as Illinois College was bossing the action on the field, the win was essentially sealed in the 66th minute when a Lawrence foul gave IC a free kick.
Roger Mies played the ball on the ground quickly to an onrushing
Jacob Nunez and the senior defender smashed home his first collegiate goal, beating Riviere at the near post.
There was little to suggest that Lawrence would trouble the Blueboys any further until a yellow card was given on the edge of the Illinois College penalty area in the 80th minute. After the referee consulted with his assistant, a penalty was awarded to the Vikings. Lewis Berger broke up the shutout by getting it past
Ty Clearwater and slicing the deficit to 2-1, however LU would not attempt another shot and IC secured the three points.
Inez-Rodriguez led the Blueboys with four shots, including three that were on target.
Bohlt Hamrick and
Ryan May each added three shots.
Nick Copley,
Alexis Zazueta and
Brock Ziegemeier all had two each.
Illinois College plays its final non-conference match of the season on Wednesday night, welcoming Westminster College (MO) to England Stadium for a 7 p.m. kick.
