Geneseo 5, Pekin 1

Pekin's girls' soccer team’s season came to an end Wednesday with a loss to Geneseo in the Class AA Richwoods Regional.

The Dragons fell 5-1 to the seventh seeded Maple Leafs, with Breanna Zimmerman scoring Pekin's lone goal.

Pekin trailed 3-0 when Zimmerman scored at the 21:30 mark of the first half. It looked like the Dragons would be down only two going into the break, but in the final minute of the first half, Geneseo struck twice to double its advantage.

"That was a crushing blow," said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. "We were down two. We were about to get the wind and go downhill which is a huge advantage there."

The game was called after a few minutes of play in the second half due to lightning and a tornado warning.

All-sectional forward Jordan Wagner and Justine Boone each had a pair of goals for Geneseo (10-1-3) which advances to Saturday's 11 a.m. championship against host Richwoods (15-2-1).

Pekin finished the 2006 season with a 6-10-1 mark and its their third straight third place finish in its final year as members of the Mid-State 6 conference.

“Moving to the Mid Illini is going to be tough, but as a program, we’re making progress," noted Sandoval of a PCHS program that has gone 23-25-6 the past three years after going 23-83-6 in the first seven years.

Pekin 7, Woodruff 1

Pekin celebrated senior night and the 10th year of girls' varsity soccer in style Thursday night, routing Woodruff 7-1 in a Mid-State 6 regular season finale at Coal Miners Park.

New ICC recruit and senior Breanna Zimmerman (see college roundup on B4) scored a hat trick while classmante Brittany Wright tallied twice.

“A couple of things we’ve been really inconsistent about this year are following our shots and making hard cuts towards the goal," said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. "We did a lot of that today and it meant scoring a lot more than we’ve been scoring.”

Chelsea Leaver picked up three assists in the game, while Kayla Milam and Amanda Miller scored single goals.

“I know third place doesn’t sound like anything special, but when you take into account that we’re behind two teams that have a legitimate shot at going to state, I’ll take it.”

Pekin opens play in the Richwoods regional on Wednesday against Geneseo.

Pekin’s junior varsity team won its first game of the year 3-1. Darsie Hacker led the hosts with the hat trick.

Pekin 2, Peoria Christian 2

Pekin scored first and last to net a 2-2 tie with Peoria Christian in a non-conference girls' soccer match Monday at Coal Miners Park.

The Dragons struck first when freshman Jakki Johnson rebounded her own shot and set up a Breanna Zimmerman goal that put the hosts ahead 1-0 10:09 into the game.

“Jakki really came through for us and really stepped up in (injured all-conference midfielder) Sam’s (Grimes) absence," said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. "We lost the East Peoria game because we didn’t follow up and what Jakki did was textbook… exactly the way I want all my players to go after 50/50 balls.”

Peoria Christian managed three first half shots, but eventually went 2-1 midway through the second half on unassisted goals by Rosie Waibel and Rachel Frazelle.


After a couple of good runs that came up short, Pekin got the equalizer forcing a corner kick with less than eight minutes to go. Zimmerman served up a solid cross that freshman Shelly Morris knocked home with a nudge of her stomach to tie the game at 2-2.

“Bre sent a perfect ball into the box," Sandoval said. "and since the Central game, Coach (Michelle) Bodily has been working with Shelly on positioning her body to receive a cross so that even if you don’t get a good touch, you’ll still be able to redirect the ball with some success. In fact a few minutes before she scored, Shelly actually hit a better shot, a half volley that just missed to the right. So of course I was thrilled to see her finish one off.”

Pekin (5-9-1) next hosts Woodruff at 4:30 p.m. at Coal Miner‘s Park.

After failing to finishing fourth or fifth for the first seven years of the program, a win will give Pekin third place in the Mid State Six for a third consecutive year.

Thursday is Senior Night and in celebration of ten years of girls varsity soccer at PCHS, the team would like to send out a special invitation for all former players to attend.

East Peoria 1, Pekin 0

Despite taking twice as many shots on goal, Pekin dropped a 1-0 non-conference girls' soccer decision to East Peoria Saturday at Coal Miners Park.

Twenty-five minutes into the first half, sophomore forward Carmen Alvarez stole the ball inside Pekin’s penalty box and sent it in for the game’s only score.

“We came out strong early, but we can’t play around with the ball inside the box," Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. "I don’t expect our keeper to stop a point blank shot and we can’t let our opponents get that close.”

It was the Dragons’ first game without senior captain and all-conference midfielder Sam Grimes. Grimes suffered a season ending ankle injury Thursday against Richwoods.

Pekin had several chances in the second half. Midway through, Breanna Zimmerman sent a cross into the middle, but Brittany Wright’s header went just over the goal. Later Zimmerman nailed two free kicks, each from about 25 yards out that forced diving saves from Red Raiders keeper Autumn Burrage, but the Dragons were unable to finish a the rebounds after either shot.


Pekin hosts Peoria Christian in a non-conference matchup today.

Richwoods 5, Pekin 0

Despite 21 saves from freshman goalie Lindsay Coffey, Pekin couldn't generate any offense in a 5-0 Mid-State 6 conference loss to Richwoods Thursday at Coal Miners Park.

The Knights were led by Elizabeth Sinclair, who scored two goals, and Courtney Holtz with a goal and two assists. The Dragons (5-8, 3-4) played tough defense early, keeping the No. 2 seed in the Peoria Notre Dame Sectonal off the board for almost 20 minutes.

Cofey had 10 saves in the first half alone.

"Lindsay made some incredible plays including a diving one hander at the left corner," Pekin coach edgar Sandoval said. "The two goals she gave up were on a great play from an all-state forward and another off a bad clear. She did everything she could to keep us in it. It was a phenomenal effort."

Coffey came up five saves short of tying the school record of 26, set by Jen Adkison in 2004.

Pekin next hosts East Peoria in a 10 a.m non-conference match Saturday at Coal Miners Park.

Pekin 3, Central 0

Pekin won its second straight soccer match Tuedsay, a 3-0 Mid-State 6 decision over host Peoria Central. The Dragons (5-7, 3-3) struck quickly after a Lions defender knocked the ball out of bounds on the right sideline. A few minutes into the game, Sam Grimes threw the ball in to Breanna Zimmerman who played a perfect one touch pass back to Grimes just up the line. Grimes launched a beautiful cross high where Brittany Wright headed it into the left corner.

Jeleighsa Hamilton made the score 2-0 with about 10 minutes left in the half. She took a pass from Bryn Golden and scored.

“Jeleighsa isn’t usually on the finishing end of our goals, but she saw the opening and took full advantage," Pekin coach Edgar sandoval said. "She makes great runs out of the back and because she is primarily a defender, I think she often goes unaccounted for up front.”

Freshman Kayla Milam finished off the scoring, with a hard fought, unassisted goal in the 65th minute. Goalkeeper Lindsay Coffey recorded her second consecutive shutout for the Pekin.