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.”

Morton 5, Pekin 0

PEKIN - Defending league champion Morton wasted no time knocking Pekin down a peg with a 5-0 Mid-Illini Conference girls' soccer win Thursday at Coal Miners Park.The Potters got on the board just three minutes into the game when forward Amy Unzicker scored off a pass from Brittany Smith. Unzicker scored again 10 minutes later, but the Dragons defense would hold strong for the rest of the half.“(Morton coach ) Brian (Deters) has a talented, disciplined team with lots of experienced players,” Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said. “I think we gave a good effort to keep them out of the goal the rest of the first half.”
The score remained 2-0 until a four-minute barrage midway through the second half. Two goals from Maci Hatch and one more from Unzicker made up the final score. Pekin's Lindsay Coffey saved 17 of the 24 Morton shots on goal.“Despite giving up more goals, I think it was a much better second half,” Sandoval said. “We had three or four runs up the side and a corner kick. But, the fact is we're a young team and with youth comes inconsistency. We'll have our share of games like this.”

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.