Box Score ELSAH, ILL. - On a unseasonably chilly early afternoon home opener, the Principia men's soccer team finally put in an effort worthy of destabilizing a feisty DePauw Tigers, ranked 23rd in the nation in the most recent NSCAA polls. The Panthers began the fray a bit shaky and were fortunate not to concede early as the Tigers got behind the Panthers back four with ease. Goalkeeper
Matt Jones was alert on both occasions to cut off the attacker's angles and force the plays wide. The Panthers finally settled down and sorted themselves out defensively allowing them to be active in transition.
McGuire Semnacher and
Nate Waters found plenty of space behind the midfielders to run rampant at the shaky Tiger backline but were unfortunate not to capitalize on several solid moves to goal.
In the 43rd minute, the Tigers would find room behind the Panther's right back where a cut back pass in the box was blocked and the rebound attempt was deemed to have been halted by hand, resulting in a penalty kick against the Panthers. The Tigers made no mistake finding the back of the net for the game winner. Principia dominated play for large spells in the second half with
David Bader making mazy runs on the left side while
Briggs Hurley and a
Gustavo Batista found room to operate in the middle to keep the Panthers probing most of the second half.
Kevin Silcox proved to be a stalwart despite his diminutive stature, winning head balls and consistently breaking Tiger attacks. This was a solid team effort from the boys and hopefully a sign of things to come. Principia will host Monmouth College this Tuesday afternoon in Elsah. Play is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.
