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For Immediate ReleaseMen's Soccer -- Oct. 19, 2011
Blackburn Pulls Away to Beat Eureka, 4-1
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College senior forward Cody Halstead (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S./Illinois Central) netted his sixth goal of the season on an 81st minute penalty kick to force a 1-1 tie, but Blackburn scored three times in the final nine minutes to overcome the Red Devils’ rally and earn a 4-1 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, Wednesday afternoon at Traister Field.
The two sides battled to a scoreless first half. Blackburn (10-4-0, 4-2-0 SLIAC) held a 15-5 advantage in shots and put five of its shots on goal, but it was the hosts that nearly stole an early lead. Halstead controlled possession near the top of the Blackburn penalty area in the closing moments of the half, but his shot was stopped by Blackburn goalkeeper Jake Peters at 44:57, preserving the scoreless tie for the Beavers.
Eureka (3-10-0, 0-5-0 SLIAC) started the second half with the wind at its back and put a pair of shots on target against Peters in the first 6:10 after intermission, but Peters stopped both opportunities. Blackburn got the first goal of the afternoon less than 10 minutes later in the 61st minute when Prince Koroma took a feed from Chris Walker, found space inside the top of the box and beat Eureka goalkeeper Nathan Mullins (South Duxbury, Vt./Harwood Union H.S.) for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Beavers until Eureka’s offensive pressure finally paid off. Eureka senior Derek Johnson (Leland, Ill./Leland H.S.) found an opening just inside the Blackburn box, but was taken down hard to set up Halstead’s penalty kick. Halstead calmly buried the opportunity at 80:31 for his 16th career goal and a 1-1 tie with just 9:29 left in regulation.
The Beavers answered with a flurry, scoring three goals in the final 8:10 to earn the league win. Koroma took advantage of mass chaos in the box at 81:50 to net the match-winner when his header inside the 6-yard box hit the back of the net. A collision amidst the chaos moments earlier left Mullins down and injured, leaving Koroma to deposit his shot into an empty net. Walker made it 3-1 on a breakaway at 85:35, and Nick Crain put the match further away when his tap-in made it 4-1 just 25 seconds later.
Senior Richie Gregory (Champaign, Ill./Judah Christian H.S.) took a career-high four shots in the loss, two of which were on goal. Mullins made five saves and has now played 439 minutes in goal this season. He needs another 84 minutes between the pipes to pass Jay Linsley (2009-10) for fourth place on the all-time Eureka minutes played list for goalkeepers.
Eureka will be back in SLIAC action this Saturday at 1 p.m. versus Spalding at Traister Field.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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