JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's soccer team kept the match scoreless until halftime on Thursday night, but Principia College broke through in the first 10 minutes after the break and added a second shortly after for a 2-0 win. The Blueboys drop to 0-2-1 on the year while the Panthers improve to 1-2-0.
In a chippy match that featured more than 20 fouls and seven yellow cards combined, Principia had the better go of it right from the off.
Raul Rubalcava pushed a save against the crossbar early on and the post also saved Illinois College twice in the opening stages.
Scoreless through 53 minutes, the game took a turn in the 54th minute on a long throw-in from the Panthers. Caleb Grow put a ball into the 18-yard box and Kaden Keller headed home to make it 1-0. Principia continued to mount pressure and were rewarded when Kaleb Keller scored on a bending free kick in the 63rd minute for a 2-0 lead.
Despite a handful of shots from the Blueboys down the stretch, Nick Klusmeyer was only forced to make two saves in goal for Principia. On the other side of the field, Rubalcava had a save and
Mitchell Stonehouse made five in the match for IC. In his first action of the year,
Justin Cozart had two shots for the Blueboys, both of which were on goal.
Illinois College heads to Indiana this weekend for its first two road matches of the season. First up on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (EST) is a first-ever meeting with Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.
