Eureka Blanked by Illinois College, 3-0
EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College men's soccer team created several offensive chances in its non-conference match versus Illinois College on Wednesday afternoon at Traister Field, but the visiting Blue Boys scored twice in the first half and also kept a clean sheet defensively on their way to a 3-0 victory over the Red Devils.
The visitors jumped in front in the 17th minute when Andrew Matheney made an outstanding play amidst heavy traffic in the Eureka penalty area, leaping to head home a corner kick from Tom Batsios for a 1-0 advantage. IC was able to stretch its lead to 2-0 less than three minutes later when Corey Marin's blast from the top of box found the back of the net at the 19:01 mark.
Eureka's best chance of the first half came in the 30th minute. After a run of the right side of the pitch, sophomore Jonathan Glass (Hazel Crest, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) ripped a deep shot toward the top far corner of the frame, but IC goalkeeper Trevor Donahue got a piece of the tailing blast to direct the ball out of bounds and keep the Red Devils off the board.
Leading 2-0 in the second half, the Blue Boys had a chance to put the match further out of reach when a Eureka hand ball in the box set up a penalty kick for Batsios in the 67th minute. His shot bounced wide to the left, keeping the Red Devils' deficit at 2-0. The visitors were finally able to get the additional insurance goal at the 73:32 mark when Brock Morrison's service deep on the right flank found a wide open Logan Cronk, who netted his second goal of the campaign for a 3-0 advantage.
Senior forward Cody Halstead (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S./Illinois Central) took three of Eureka's 11 shots for the match, including a strike in the 18th minute that made its way to Donohue. Senior Richie Gregory (Champaign, Ill./Judah Christian H.S.) and freshman Matt Dillard (Goodfield, Ill./Eureka H.S.) recorded two shots apiece. IC's shutout of the Red Devils extended Eureka's scoreless drought to 336-minutes, 31-seconds.
Eureka will have less than 48 hours to prepare for its next match. The Red Devils will host Robert Morris-Springfield in a non-conference match Friday at Traister Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
