Principia Escapes Eureka, 2-1
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College sophomore Brendan Carr (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.) tallied his first career goal to force an early tie, but Principia netted the match-winner in the 25th minute and held off a late rally by the Red Devils to earn a 2-1 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Eureka, Saturday at Traister Field.
The visitors claimed an early 1-0 lead on the first goal of the season by Paul Sanderude. Alan Cheatham was credited with an assist on the play, as Sanderude's shot skipped into the lower corner of the net on a blast from approximately 25 yards away in the 13th minute.
Eureka (2-8-0, 0-3-0 SLIAC) needed a short amount of time to counter. Amidst chaos in box after a Derek Johnson (Leland, Ill./Leland H.S.) corner kick, Carr was able to quickly deposit a rebound past Principia (3-7-1, 1-1-0 SLIAC) goalkeeper Samuel Thomas at the 15:34 mark to force the 1-1 tie. Eureka senior Evan Kingery (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth H.S.) assisted on the strike, as it was Kingery's deflected header that landed at the feet of Carr.
Cheatham finished a nice crossing pass in the Eureka penalty area from Abi Carper in the 25th minute to regain a 2-1 lead for the visitors. The score remained 2-1 in favor of Principia for the remainder of the first half.
Facing the one-goal deficit throughout the second half, the Red Devils put three shots on target against Thomas but were unable to find the equalizer. Eureka's best chance of the half came in the 82nd minute after senior forward Cody Halstead (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S./Illinois Central) was fouled hard in the Principia penalty area. Johnson's ensuing penalty kick sailed high, allowing the Panthers to retain their 2-1 advantage.
Eureka will have less than 24 hours to prepare for its next match when it travels to Milwaukee, Wis. for a 2 p.m. non-conference match at Wisconsin Lutheran on Sunday. The Red Devils and Warriors were originally scheduled to play at Traister Field on Sept. 3, but severe weather forced the contest to be rescheduled.
