Pekin 1, East Peoria 1

EAST PEORIA - Pekin was two minutes away from a third straight girls' soccer victory Thursday night, but a goal by East Peoria forced the Lady Dragons to settle for a 1-1 Mid-Illini Conference tie at EastSide Centre.

Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval said the match was pretty even in the first half with the Lady Dragons still managing several shots while playing into a strong wind. About 10 minutes before halftime, Pekin's Colleen Quilty got the ball on the left side and switched strong across the center where Jakki Johnson, celebrating her 18th birthday, was able to run onto it and strike it home for Pekin's only goal.

"Coach (Michelle) Bodily and I have been preaching all season the value of switching fields and Colleen and Jakki really came through," Sandoval said.

The score remained 1-0 until the 78th minute. Pekin goal keeper Lindsay Coffey was able to deflect a cross, but the Raiders' Becca Britton followed it in for the equalizer.

The last two minutes of the game saw two East Peoria yellow cards, the second coming with nine seconds left. After Pekin's Marissa McGurr passed the ball, an East Peoria player slid in hard, crushing her leg.

"The ref sent their girl off, but the damage was done," Sandoval said. "Hopefully it doesn't cost Marissa the rest of her season."

The Dragons move to 9-6-2 on the season and finish 4-6-2 in conference heading into Monday's non-conference match at Macomb.