Princeton 3, Pekin 0

PRINCETON - Pekin's offensive struggles continued at Princeton on Saturday in a 3-0 non-conference girls' soccer loss. Princeton forward Josie Gustafson scored two goals and assisted on a third, but the Dragons' defense made hem work, shutting the hosts down for the entire first half.

"We made more runs up front than we did against Morton, so that's a positive, "Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. "The defense really shined early on. Amanda Miller, Karis Parkin, Jeleighsa Hamilton and Marissa McGurr made sure that we were really challenging anything near the box.”

Missing three starters and three reserves because of spring break and other school activities, Sandoval said the Dragons (0-2-1) ran out of gas early in the second half. Gustafson found a cutting Emily Kauffman on the right side for the first score three minutes in.

“The wheels came off after that," Sandoval said. "All my freshmen and sophomores played the JV game first as they were missing players... and we brought up four JV players for their first varsity experience. We’re losing one more player for Tuesday’s game (vs. Metamora), so it’ll be a challenge.”