ELSAH, IL – It was an electric night at the Principia soccer field as the Panthers' Men's Soccer team battled the Eureka Red Devils in the first conference home game of the season. The start of the game was delayed over an hour due to a thunderstorm that rolled through Elsah, and flashes of distant lightning could be seen during the game. Though no lightning strikes came close enough to campus to cut the game short, there were plenty of second half fireworks on the field in a tough 2-1 loss for the Panthers.
After a scoreless first half, Principia got on the board first after a gorgeous free kick by
Parker Boyce in the 56th minute sailed just over the keeper and under the cross bar. Eureka kept pushing and tied the game in the 62st minute when a bouncing ball in the box from a corner kick found the foot of Isaac Noriega, who knocked it past a diving
Torben Rehnert.
The chances went back and forth until Principia thought they had taken the lead in the 79th minute when a goal by
Christian Tresoldi was called back by a tight offsides call. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Red Devils would take the lead three minutes later on a quick counter goal where a long pass was sent to Khalil Aleynne, who flicked the ball over a charging Rehnert. The Panthers pleaded for offsides on the run by Aleynne, but the flag stayed down and Eureka closed out the 2-1 win in their first conference contest. The loss for Principia drops them to 1-1 in SLIAC play.
Though the bounces and calls didn't go the Panthers way at the end of the game, there were many good moments and good lessons to take away moving forward. A standout performer on defense for Principia was freshman
Reagan Kaliisa, who stopped multiple Eureka chances and distributed the ball well to his teammates.
Up Next: The Panthers next match comes on Saturday when they host new conference opponent, Lyon College, at 1:00 pm.
