ELSAH, IL – On Tuesday evening, Principia College hosted their first postseason soccer game since the 2019 Men's SLIAC Championship game. The Panthers came in as the third seed and welcomed the sixth-seeded Eureka Red Devils to campus for the quarterfinal tilt.
In their two previous meetings this season, Principia had not given up a goal to Eureka, but they had only scored one themselves. As two stronger defensive teams coming off a 0-0 draw on Saturday, the game was sure to be a thriller.
The first half was an even battle as Principia barely out-shot Eureka 6-5, but neither team could find the back of the net. The Panthers picked things up in the second half, holding the Red Devils to only three shots and controlling the majority of possession with 12 shots of their own. Unfortunately, they could not solve Eureka's keeper Brayton Strawkas, who made several huge saves to keep the game knotted at 0-0 at the end of regulation.
As this was a playoff game, two ten minute periods of extra time were added. Despite firing six more shots in extra time – including a
Wizzy Afrani screamer off the crossbar from close range – the Panthers couldn't put one past Strawkas. Principia keeper
Torben Rehnert also had some key stops of his own throughout the match and earned his ninth shutout of the season.
With the score still tied 0-0 after 110 minutes, the job was still not finished as the match headed to a penalty shootout to see who would advance.
Christian Tresoldi,
Liam Peschke,
Diego Alas,
EG Pierce, and
Parker Boyce were chosen as the shooters for Principia (in that order). Eureka went first and each team converted their first three kicks.
On the Red Devils fourth attempt, the shooter tried a slow, arcing chip shot, but Rehnert was able to react in time and bounce back up to make the save. Captain
EG Pierce then stepped up confidently and fired the ball past the keeper to put Principia up 4-3. All the Panthers needed now was a save by Rehnert or a goal by Boyce to win. On Eureka's final attempt, Rehnert guessed correctly to make his second consecutive save and secure the Panther victory. Many student fans rushed the field to celebrate with the team as they mobbed Rehnert after his big saves.
Up Next: Principia will now travel to second-seeded Grenville University for the SLIAC Semifinals on Thursday evening at 7:00 pm CT. Come cheer on the team in person (adult tickets are $5) or watch the
live stream!
