JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's soccer team looked to be the more dangerous side for 110 minutes on Sunday afternoon, but the Blueboys could never find the one moment of magic they needed and had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Ripon College. The tie, the first of the season for IC, moves the team to 4-7-1 (1-1-1 Midwest Conference).
The match got off to a bit of a slow start as both sides managed just four shots apiece in the opening 45 minutes. While all of Ripon's shots were off-target and didn't require a save from
Raul Rubalcava, the Blueboys sent three efforts on goal where Cole Jurish had to deal with them.
Josh Schmidt,
Ryan May and
Deon Washington all had shots saved to keep things level at the break.
Things began to pick up in the second half. Jurish was forced into saves on shots from May,
Brock Ziegemeier and
Muamer Kermo in a span of just more than two minutes early on. As the half moved towards its midway point, the Red Hawks finally began to make more of an impact with their chances but Rubalcava stopped four shots in a span of seven minutes. After May missed the target on a header with just over a minute left in regulation, overtime appeared imminent. However, one last chance presented itself when a ball in IC's final third was played over the top and Washington was able to run onto it with less than 10 seconds left. Given a one-on-one opportunity, the freshman put his shot on frame but had it saved by Jurish to allow the Red Hawks to escape.
In the first overtime, Ziegemeier had a shot saved right on the doorstep as his volley of a cross went straight into the arms of Jurish from close range. In the second overtime, Schmidt was denied the game-winner by the right post. In the final minute, the speed of
Brandon Sommer presented a challenge to Ripon and the freshman had two chances to win it, however, each shot was just wide of the mark.
May and Sommer each ended with four shots on the day. Rubalcava got the shutout with four saves.
Next up for Illinois College is a trip up the road to face Monmouth College on Oct. 6. First kick is scheduled for 11 a.m.
