Pekin 1, Limestone 1

BARTONVILLE - Pekin was two minutes away from its first opening-day girls' soccer victory in program history, but had to settle for a 1-1 tie in its Mid-Illini Conference debut Tuesday against Limestone.The Dragons got on board first a corner kick landed short. Shelly Morris sent the ball back to Jakki Johnson, and Johnson lofted a shot that Limestone keeper Anne Heien got a hand on, but tipped into the goal about 16 minutes into the game.“Jakki had several good runs tonight and it's great to see her starting off the season on a positive,” Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said.
The Dragons' defense held strong and the offense generated twice as man shots as the Rockets, but a defensive breakdown with about two minutes left cost Pekin the victory.Limestone forward Rachel Kyle launched a free kick that Pekin keeper Lindsay Coffey saved but couldn't hold on to. The Rockets' Kelsie Weynand marched in unmarked for the easy follow up score.“It's tough because I felt we dominated much of the game, and at half-time I even warned our girls about something like this happening,” Sandoval said. “But you learn from these situations and hopefully we'll have more to show for it when we play them again.”
Pekin hosts Morton on at 4:15 p.m. Thursday at Coal Miners Park.