Saturday, April 28, 2007

Dunlap 3, Pekin 1

DUNLAP - Host Dunlap tallied three goals in an eight-minute span to knock off Pekin 3-1 Saturday in a Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer match.

A Pekin foul in the penalty box and subsequent penalty kick by junior defender Abby Barra in the 56th minute got the Eagles (8-2-4, 4-1-3) started.

“That really took the wind out of our sails,'' Pekin head coach Edgar Sandoval said. “From my view it looks like our player was trying to not push a Dunlap player that was falling. The ref felt like our girl pushed theirs. It was a judgment call, but it hurt.''

Dunlap scored twice more before Amanda Miller connected in the 70th minute for Pekin (4-7-2, 1-6-2) on a crossing pass by freshman Shawna Swisher after Darsie Hacker's pass initiated the play.

“Darsie's been hurt, but really came through,'' added Sandoval, whose team was outshot 12-2 by the hosts. “And I can't say enough about Allie Zuercher, who we just moved to midfield for the first time this season. She helped us maintain possession against a very strong team.''

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Metamora 3, Pekin 0

PEKIN - Pekin hung tough with Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer rival Metamora Thursday but it wasn't enough for the Dragons to pick up a victory as the Redbirds came away with a 3-0 decision at Coal Miners Park.Metamora sophomore Kathy Marchal scored a goal and assisted on the Redbirds' other two, all off first-half corner kicks.“Kathy serves a great ball, no doubt about it, but we can't defer to them in the box,” said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. “You have to fight for position and you have to do everything you can to keep it out. We watched.”
Pekin was able to shut out the Redbirds in the second half, but the Dragons' offense couldn't get anything going for a rally.“We possessed the ball well, much better than we did on Tuesday night (against Morton),” Sandoval said. “It was definitely a better effort and this game could easily have been 1-0 or 1-1 had we stayed focused the entire 80 minutes.”Pekin next travels to Dunlap Saturday for a 10 a.m. Mid-Illini match.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Morton 7, Pekin 0

MORTON - Pekin saw its four-game girls' soccer winning streak come to an end as Mid-Illini leader Morton scored early and often in sending the Dragons to a 7-0 setback.Brittany Smith scored just two minutes into the game and Pekin could never recover. The Lady Dragons (4-5-2, 1-3-2) managed only one shot on goal in the contest.Amy Unzicker, Kristin Dierker, Meagan Reitz, Rachel Payne, Darcy King and Maci Hatch also scored for Morton (8-1-1, 7-0-1).

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Pekin 1, Lincoln 0; Pekin 3, Sterling 0

PEKIN - Host Pekin saved its best for last in its inaugural girls' soccer invitational tournament, winning 1-0 over Lincoln Saturday on a late goal from reserve forward Michelle Feicke.The Lady Dragons blanked Sterling 3-0 earlier in the day and now have won four straight games without giving up a goal to improve to 4-5-2 on the season.Lincoln took second place in the tournament, winning the goals allowed tiebreaker with Sterling. Woodruff finished fourth.
Lincoln's best chance to score came just two minutes into the second half. After a Pekin foul, Lincoln forward Beth Rayman bent a ball from the right side towards the upper left corner, but Pekin goal keeper Lindsay Coffey was able to reach up and knock it over the goal.“Lindsay and our defenders - Marissa McGurr, Jessica Allen and Karis Parkin - were superb,'' Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. “Lincoln can score in bunches so the fact that we were able to shut them down was a positive.”Against Sterling, Shawna Swisher, Emily LaBanca and Kayla Milam accounted for the Pekin scoring.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Pekin 8, Woodruff 0

PEKIN - Edgar Sandoval organized the Pekin girls' soccer invitational tournament to give the sport some exposure in the community.On a sunny, warm, cloudless Friday afternoon at Coal Miners Park, Sandoval's Lady Dragons exposed every Peoria Woodruff weakness en route to an 8-0 victory in the inaugural tournament's first game.
“Girls soccer is still in its infancy in many ways in Pekin, so I started the tournament to put on a nice event, especially for the younger girls to see,” said Sandoval, Pekin's fourth-year coach.Pekin star Jeleighsa Hamilton likes the tournament. At least for the most part.“It's different and new, so it's cool,” the senior midfielder said. “We have to play a lot of soccer in two days, though.”
Pekin (2-4-2) and Woodruff (1-8) are joined by Lincoln and Sterling in the four-team field. Each team will play three games with 30-minute halves instead of the usual 40-minute halves.Lincoln, missing five starters because of a band competition, played to a scoreless tie Friday with Sterling after the Pekin-Woodruff game. The Lincoln starters are expected to be back in action today.After Pekin faces Sterling at 9 a.m. today, it'll wait while Woodruff meets Lincoln and Sterling in back-to-back games. The Lady Dragons and Lincoln will collide in the tournament's final game at about 3:30 p.m. All the games will be played at Coal Miners Park.
“I'm really looking forward to the Lincoln game,” Sandoval said. “Limestone has a good defense, and Lincoln scored four times against them (in a 5-4 loss).”Pekin has tested Limestone's defense twice this season. The Lady Dragons tied Limestone 1-1 in their opener, then beat the Rockets 3-0 Thursday for their first victory of the season.“The teams in our tournament won't remind you of (Peoria) Notre Dame, (Peoria) Richwoods or Morton, but they're young teams that are improving,” Sandoval said. “This is a good beginning for the tournament. I hope to expand it down the road and bring in teams that are more familiar to soccer people.”
The tournament champion and runner-up will each receive a team trophy, and the players on both of those teams will each get a medal. Each win is worth three points in the tournament standings, and teams get one point for a tie. Standings tiebreakers are head-to-head competition, goals allowed and goals scored.Playing three games - albeit shorter games - in about 24 hours is going to test Pekin's endurance and depth, but Sandoval feels the Lady Dragons are ready for the challenge.“We're been doing extra conditioning, and I think it's paying off,” Sandoval said. “Our starters are playing more minutes than they did in the past, and they're not running out of gas. The starters and reserves are all realizing that it's critical for them to be in their best shape.”
Seven Pekin players scored against Woodruff. Amanda Miller tallied a pair of goals, and Michelle Feicke, Emily LaBanca, Marissa McGurr, Shawna Swisher, Allie Zuercher and Hamilton also put the ball in the back of the net. Jakki Johnson contributed two assists, and Beth Steger and LaBanca each had one helper.Pekin goalie Lindsay Coffey made two saves, both in the first half. The Lady Dragons were so dominant in the second half that Coffey could have bought a hot dog and Coke at the refreshment stand and watched the entire half from the bleachers.LaBanca, a freshman, showed off her speed several times during the game. She scored her first career goal Thursday against Limestone.
“Emily is really coming along,” Sandoval said. “When she gets some ball skills, she'll be a special player.”Pekin is 2-0-1 in its last three games after getting off to a 0-4-1 start.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Pekin 3, Limestone 0

PEKIN - Pekin finally found its offense and broke through for three goals in a 3-0 Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer win over Limestone Thursday at Coal Miners Park.Pekin (1-4-2, 1-3-2) got on the scoreboard 10 minutes into the game when senior Amanda Miller, who recently moved up from defense, found the back of the net after a scramble in front of the goal.Then about seven minutes later, Jakki Johnson got the ball in the right corner and sent a perfect cross to freshman midfielder Emily LaBanca who headed the ball in for her first career goal.
“That was one of the best executed plays we've had since I've started coaching,” Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. “Jakki's pass was great, and Emily was in exactly the right spot. And the velocity on both the pass and the shot was superb.”With three minutes left, Beth Steger made a run to the end line and found another freshman, Marissa McGurr, in front of the goal. McGurr tallied her first career goal to end the scoring.“I thought our effort was terrific,” Sandoval said. “I think our girls really felt like our first match with them should have been a win instead of a tie and their play was inspired. I think we're building some momentum and hopefully it'll carry us in our tournament (see related info box) this weekend.”

Friday, April 13, 2007

Pekin 1, East Peoria 1

EAST PEORIA - The Pekin girls' soccer team broke its scoreless streak in dramatic fashion Friday, finishing in a 1-1 tie in Mid-Illini Conference action at East Peoria.The Dragons were reeling from four straight shutout loses. And after a scoreless first half, the Raiders' Carmon Alvaraz crashed the box to put hosts ahead in the 53rd minute.The score remained 1-0 until the final minute.
“I sent Marissa (McGurr) and Jeleighsa (Hamiltion) up from the back leaving us with just two defenders,” Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. “But, at that point giving up another goal wasn't going to change anything. When Jeleighsa got the ball, I screamed take it all the way - and that's what she did.”

Off a Pekin throw-in, the senior defender dribbled past four East Peoria defenders, turned the corner and found Jakki Johnson open in front of the goal. Johnson's second goal of the season was the equalizer with 43 seconds left.“

This effort was what we missed on Tuesday against Washington,” Sandoval said. “The girls played a heck of a game and didn't give up. It was a tremendous effort.”

Pekin goalkeeper Lindsay Coffey registered 11 saves.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Washington 6, Pekin 0

WASHINGTON - Pekin failed to score for a fourth consecutive straight game Tuesday in a 6-0 Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer loss to host Washington.Washington started its scoring onslaught early in the first half when midfielder Lauren Dinkheller lofted a shot in the goal 1:13 into the game.
“That pretty much set the tone for us for the game,” said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. “Our effort was very disappointing.”Junior Carrie Bunting scored three goals in the game for the Panthers.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Metamora 2, Pekin 0

METAMORA - Host Metamora picked up a goal in each half and defeated shorthanded Pekin 2-0 in a Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer match Tuesday. Mel Young scored for the Redbirds in the 11th minute of the opening half for the Redbirds (2-1, 2-1) before Ashley Rainville added an insurance tally in the second half.Pekin, short several players because of spring break conflicts, was outshot 21-2.