CARLINVILLE, IL – The Principia Women's Soccer team began SLIAC play on Saturday at Blackburn College looking for their first win of the season. While that didn't happen, the Panthers also didn't lose for the first time this season as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Principia's goal came late in the first half with just under 3 minutes remaining. After long sustained pressure in the attack,
Amarachi Ejimadu picked up the ball in space. Driving forward into the box, she sent a low ball into
Dachelle Carter, who was darting towards goal. The subsequent shot hit the post and as Carter's effort rebounded back to her and she redirected it far post. The ball came to a perfectly positioned
Sarah Smith, who alertly knocked it home for her first collegiate goal.
The Beavers got one back in the second half, however, when a Blackburn player arrived to a far post ball first and tied the game up. This goal came against the run of play as the Panthers controlled the majority of chances throughout the game. The Panthers continued pressing and hunting for the game winner, which narrowly eluded them several times. Principia also came close in the first half with a goal by
Dachelle Carter called back due to a questionable foul.
Kaylee Kleist was a continuous threat against the Beavers' back line with excellently placed balls from
Aylin Acosta repeatedly giving her attacking opportunities. With other dangerous balls flying into the box from
Kannon Gill,
Shayla Kelley,
Amarachi Ejimadu, and
Olivia Scott, attackers had flurries of chances narrowly miss their target or be blocked by Blackburn defenders. Kleist, Smith, Carter, as well as
Rachael Williams and
Haley Rudd all had repeat chances go begging.
The unsung heroes for the Panthers – during both this game and the entire season – have been midfielders Acosta and
Zayana Brown. The miles that they cover from the first whistle to the last while sustaining technical quality and game-awareness can go overlooked if you don't know to look for it. Acosta and Brown's chemistry is exceptional and their impact has been immediate. They played a massive role today in limiting Blackburn's ability to get attacking momentum throughout the game.
"I'm so proud of our team," said Coach Thomas afterwards. "We put together a full 90-minute performance for our first time this season and we know that the goals will come. We're now in a position where we're maturing as a group and generating more attacking chances, and as we continue to create threats in the attack, our goal scorers will find their feet and we'll have much more to celebrate. We executed our game plan very effectively by winning the territory battle, and on a different day, either Dachelle's goal stands or other shots find their way through defenders to yield a different result. We're disappointed in the tie because we felt we played well enough to win, but we're excited that the habits we showed we could consistently have today will set us up for more opportunities to walk away with wins."
Up Next: Principia will go for their first victory when they host Eureka College this Tuesday at 8:00 pm.
