EUREKA, IL – The Principia Women's Soccer team traveled to Eureka College on Saturday for their final match of the regular season. The game was must-win in order to clinch a spot in the SLIAC Tournament, and the Panthers took care of business, walking away with a 2-0 victory.
Principia started strong and dominantly, controlling possession and generating chances on the Eureka goal. A slew of offside calls against the Panthers kept them off the scoreboard in the early going, but Principia kept the pressure on. Principia took 20 shots in the first half, forcing 11 saves from Eureka's goalkeeper and countless blocked chances from defenders. The post and crossbar were also called into action on different occasions, with the ball rebounding out.
The Panthers would mirror their first half shot tally with 20 more in the second half, but with better results this time. A 72nd minute goal from
Viviane de Castro finally gave Principia the lead they were searching for. de Castro finishes her senior season with a career-best nine goals. In the 85th minute,
Adriana Rucks would seal the deal for the Panthers with her first goal of the season. After conceding three goals to the Red Devils in their first meeting, the Panthers played much better defense this time, only allowing one shot by Eureka the entire game.
Up Next: As the six seed in the SLIAC Tournament, the Panthers will travel to Greenville on Tuesday for a rematch of last year's playoff matchup (won by Greenville 1-0 in extra time). The quarterfinal match will kick off at 5:00 pm.
