JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's soccer team broke a scoreless deadlock just shy of the hour mark and added a second goal in the dying seconds of the match for a 2-0 win on the road at MacMurray College on Thursday evening. The win improves the Lady Blues to 3-3-0 on the season, while also giving IC a 2-0 lead early on in the Mayor's Cup competition with the Highlanders.
Scoring chances were few and far between in the opening half. Illinois College managed a total of three shots while MacMurray had two. Neither team had any corner kicks and each goalkeeper –
Lindsey Kormelink for the Lady Blues – ended with two saves. The biggest threat for either team came in the form of a handful of front-flip throw-ins from MacMurray that managed to put the ball in a dangerous position in the IC 18-yard box on multiple occasions. The Highlanders had very few runners in on those throws, however, and the Lady Blues did well to clear them all away.
Morgan Lallish issued a statement of intent in the opening minutes of the second half, shooting wide in the 47th minute and forcing a save from Kayla Enochs in the 50th minute. The Illinois College breakthrough came in the 57th minute as
Emma Chapman played a through ball to
Katie Elmore, who was tackled rashly just outside the 18-yard box, earning MacMurray's Rachael Walker a yellow card. On the ensuing free kick, Lallish spun a shot past Enochs into the right corner, putting the Lady Blues on top, 1-0.
Illinois College continued to play on the front foot but couldn't extend its lead throughout much of the remainder of the second half. MacMurray had a couple scoring chances, especially late in the match when Kormelink was forced into saves on Erin Detter and Emily Kolo. In the final minute, the Highlanders were whistled for a handball in the box and
Olivia Dobbs calmly stepped up and scored it to put the match away.
The Lady Blues return home to England Stadium on Sept. 15, hosting Principia College at 4:30 p.m.
