JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College women's soccer team went head-to-head with Beloit College for nearly 90 minutes with nothing to decide the winner until Beloit's Mikaila Davis snuck a shot past
Charlotte Crofton with just over three minutes remaining to give the Buccaneers the 1-0 win on Sunday. IC is now 5-11-0 (0-7-0 Midwest Conference) on the season.
For most of the match, Illinois College had the better of things. The Lady Blues had chance after chance, especially in the first half when they outshot the Buccaneers, 8-4. Both Crofton and Audrey Ketterer had three saves in the first half to keep the score level.
Katie Elmore had two shots on goal in the first half and
Annie Burns had one.
The second half featured more end-to-end action. The best chance of the day for Illinois College came in the 67th minute when a Crofton kick out of her 18-yard box resulted in a breakaway chance for Elmore. The junior outraced the Beloit defense and put a shot past Ketterer, only to see it hit the left post and bounce away.
A similar scenario presented itself for Beloit with less than four minutes to play. The Buccaneers built out of the back on a goal kick until a long ball from the defensive midfield put Davis in a one-on-one situation with an IC defender. Davis was able to dribble into the 18-yard box and as Crofton closed in to cut down her space, she got just enough of a touch on the ball to trickle it in. Illinois College was unable to answer in the limited time that remained, allowing the Buccaneers to earn the victory.
Crofton ended the afternoon with seven saves. Elmore led IC with four shots in the match, while
Morgan Lallish had three. The trio of
Annie Burns,
Olivia Dobbs and
Jessica Schuetz had two apiece.
Illinois College goes on the road next weekend for its final away trip of the season, taking on Lake Forest College on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.
