Box Score Decatur, Ill. - On Saturday evening the Principia College men's soccer team
travelled to Decatur, Ill. to face the Millikin University Big Blue in a non-conference match-up. Despite the 0-2 final score in favor of Millikin, Principia had a strong showing, with a united team effort and several notable contributions from multiple Panthers. The two early goals from Millikin put the Panthers into a hole which ultimately proved insurmountable, but the Panthers never quit. Ball possession was fairly even throughout the game, as well as shots on goal, with the final count favoring Millikin by just one (7 to the Panthers 6). Several Panthers were involved in the Principia offensive attack, with sophomores
Briggs Hurley and
Pierson Gill, along with seniors
Richard Bonsi and
Kevin Silcox all contributing to the shot total. The second half in particular showed an awakening from the Panther squad, due in large part to the solid play from freshman goalkeeper Kaylin Hernandez-Beiner, who had 5 saves on the game, included a brilliant 1v1 save that kept the Panthers competitive. That, combined with a breakthrough from Bonsi who's shot was just blocked by the Millikin keeper, allowed Principia to stay mentally competitive and mount a 2nd period surge that produced some of the Panthers most promising goal-scoring opportunities. Says head coach
Jess Semnacher, "This season has had a rough start, but we are just now starting to play together and find our rhythm offensively. This game was winnable for us, but it's tough to come back when you concede to early goals back to back. We have plenty of talent to be winning. Our efforts continue to focus on playing as a team without egos. This looks like creating space for each other, moving the ball quickly...not complicating things, and making each other look good with the quality of passes we play. I am confident that this group has what it takes to perform well in conference.
Men's Soccer will have their next opportunity to put all this into practice this coming Saturday, September 26th in their latest conference match-up at Webster University in St. Louis, Mo. Kick-off is set for 1:00 pm.
