Pekin 7, Manual 0
Kickers score 10th win in 7-0 shutout
By Times staff
PEKIN -- Pekin celebrated Senior Night in a big way Tuesday, shutting out Mid-State 6 Conference foe Manual 7-0 at Coal Miners Park and recording a 10th win in a girls' soccer season for the first time.
This year is the first winning season for the Dragons, which finished the regular season 10-6-1 overall and 6-4 for third place in the conference.
Senior defenders Breanna Bouris and Ashley Poston and backup goalie Bethany Smith all played offense for the first time Tuesday and scored their first career goals for the Dragons.
"There's no better feeling than scoring a goal, and I wanted to make sure these girls who have worked so hard on defense the past few years, but aren't usually in a position to score, got a chance to experience the feeling," Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said.
Starting goalkeeper Jen Adkison also got some field time and scored a first-half goal and assisted another. Stephanie Sheffler scored her first goal of the season on a penalty kick and then added a second goal with a header on a pass from Tory Udry.
And, Nicole Richards closed out the scoring with her first career goal when Sam Grimes found her cutting towards the net. Pekin outshot Manual, 20-0.
"These seniors have been so instrumental in turning this program around and this was a great way to celebrate," Sandoval said. "We've got one more goal that I think is within reach and that is to win our first playoff game since soccer was split into Class A and Class AA."
The Dragons, which have won their last four matches, meet Rock Island in the first round of regional play at 11 a.m. Saturday in Moline.
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