GREENVILLE, IL – After their quarterfinal victory over Eureka, the third-seeded Principia Men's Soccer team faced off with second-seeded Greenville University on Thursday evening for a spot in the SLIAC championship.
In their two previous meetings this season, Greenville had defeated Principia 2-0 in Elsah, while the meeting in Greenville ended in a 1-1 draw. Greenville came into the game the more rested team having not had to play on Tuesday. On the other hand, this was Principia's fourth game in eight days, and it showed in their play in the semifinal.
The Greenville defense stifled the Principia attack all evening, only allowing one shot on goal and five shots total. In contrast, Greenville fired 18 shots at the Principia, half of which were on goal. Panther goalkeeper
Torben Rehnert was up to the task until the 61st minute, when Greenville struck. A free kick was swung into the box and a contested header sent the ball flying straight up into the air. Greenville's Napoleon Urquidi was the man on the spot and headed the ball perfectly past Rehnert off the post and in for the 1-0 lead.
The goal was all Greenville would need as Principia was unable to put one home in the final 30 minutes, and their impressive season came to an unfortunate end. With a team full of young talent and more on the way, Principia is sure to come back even stronger next season as they try to win their fourth SLIAC title.
