WHEATON, ILL. -- An 85th minute 30-yard shot off of a counterattack sealed the Panthers fate against the defending CCIW champions Carthage College on Friday afternoon at the Bob Baptista Invitational at Wheaton College.
The Red Men took an early lead in the 30th minute, when a sizzling cross was deflected into the Panthers' net. The new-look Panthers gave it their all in the first half but missed several golden opportunities that would have changed the game. Andy Rohrer's header was heading to the back of the net before a last ditch effort by the netminder parred the ball to the side. Freshman
Richard Bonsi's solo effort following a neat exchange in the middle with
Nate Waters off a counter missed the mark wide while another effort in the second half also sailed over the cross bar from the top of the box. McGuire came closest in the middle of the second half when his thirty yard curler beat the keeper only to find the side bar. He followed that effort with a superb chip that also had the keeper beat but was just inches over the crossbar. There were some notable performances by the panthers including netminder,
Matt Jones, coming up big with several key stops to keep the Panthers in the game.
Kevin Silcox's toughness in the middle and Alejandro Jasso's roving runs down the left flank showed great promise while
Kenneth Manning's pressure and hustle meant no quitting on the day. All in all, the Panthers put in a valiant effort but failed to the better side and will now face Wheaton College at 7pm on Saturday night.
