JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's soccer team had a plan and executed it for over 30 minutes on Saturday against St. Norbert College. The Green Knights scored three times within seven minutes just before halftime, however, and eventually ended the day with a 5-1 victory over the Blueboys. IC is now 5-10-2 (1-5-0 Midwest Conference).
St. Norbert used its numerous offensive weapons early on to earn corner kick after corner kick, but Illinois College held on to keep the match scoreless. One ball was cleared off the line by an IC defender in the third minute and the Green Knights would later be denied by both the post and the crossbar. Finally, with less than 10 minutes to go before halftime, St. Norbert broke through with build-up play out of midfield and a half-volleyed effort from Max Censky. Less than three minutes later, the Blueboys would be whistled for a handball in the box and Brandon DiOrio converted from the spot for a 2-0 lead. The flurry of goals was completed in the 42nd minute with a tap-in from Drake Vandermause off of a corner kick.
A goal from Tomas Pazos extended St. Norbert's lead to 4-0 with 26 minutes remaining. The Blueboys little by little began to then create more offensive chances, resulting in
Thomas Saitta's 84th minute free kick goal over the Green Knight wall to make it 4-1. Pazos added one last goal in the 88th minute to close the scoring.
Raul Rubalcava had six saves on the day while
Mitchell Stonehouse had one as well. Saitta had two of IC's shots in the match, while
Bohlt Hamrick and
Patrick Marker each added one.
Illinois College will look to wrap up the weekend on a high note on Sunday afternoon. The Blueboys will Rally for Robbie at 1:30 p.m., facing Beloit College.
