Eureka, IL. - Principia men's soccer traveled to play the Eureka Red Devils and won a challenging game, 3-2. Eureka hasn't won a conference game this year, bu the Red Devils were in the game from start to finish.
Dillon Hussey got his first career SLIAC goal on a shot volleyed high over the keeper within the first 6 minutes. After what seemed to be a game in Principia's favor, Eureka quickly gathered themselves to score two goals. The Panthers came back in the second half strong as Freshman Juan Cabral earned Principia a penalty when he was fouled in the Eureka 18 yard box. E.G. Pierce took the penalty shot confidently and slotted his third goal of the year. With 5 minutes to go, Delwys Glokpor put the game winner past the Eureka keeper after a nice pass from Liam Peschke. Eureka was awarded a penalty one minute later, but goalkeeper Jacob Ellis made an excellent read on the kick and dove to his left. His courageous effort ensured that he had the goal covered, but Eureka's placekicker was off the mark. The kick struck the lower part of the upright and was played away to safety. In his first appearance of the season, Jay Ogbonna did an excellent job stepping into the backline.
Head coach Jess Semnacher stated, "I'm proud of our guys for grinding out the win today. We had a rough first half and the guys could have got frustrated and stopped it, and they didn't. In the second half, we figured out how to create more chances and protect our goal better. While it wasn't pretty, this game will give us some momentum going into the final stretch here."
Up Next: Principia will play Greenville University at home this Saturday, October 23rd, at 1 pm.
