Friday, April 24, 2009

Pekin 2, Peoria Christian 0

PEKIN, Ill. -
The Pekin girls soccer team got what it wanted Friday.
Coach Edgar Sandoval’s team defeated Peoria Christian 2-0 in the opening game of the third annual Lady Dragons Invitational at Coal Miners Park.
Keeping the Chargers scoreless was as important as the victory for Pekin because goals-allowed is a standings tie-breaker.
But Sandoval is seeing storm clouds on the horizon.
“We had a lot of success during a recent week-long stretch. Everything came very easily for us,” Sandoval said, referring to a three-game blitz from April 11-18 when Pekin outscored Dunlap, Washington and East Peoria by a combined 17-0.
Sandoval is concerned about what he saw after the first 17 minutes of his team’s 4-1 victory Thursday over Limestone, and what he watched for much of the game Friday.
“We’re getting away from what’s made us successful,” he said. “We’re trying to out-athletic people instead of outplay them. We can’t make long passes and use our speed all the time. That’s easy to defend.”
To put it in baseball terms, Sandoval said, the Lady Dragons (8-2-1) are trying to hit a home run too much of the time instead of mixing in some small ball.
But Sandoval is confident the Lady Dragons will get back on track.
“We have girls who have soccer experience, and know how to win,” he said. “You can tell on their faces that they know what’s happening. They’re policing each other, and they’re encouraging each other.”
Normal West defeated Lincoln 3-0 in the other invitational game Friday. The four teams will each play two games today.
Pekin scored two early goals against Peoria Christian (6-2), which already has equaled last year’s victory total.
Shawna Swisher converted a perfect cross from Michaela Quilty with 20:32 left in the first half, and Quilty banged home a corner kick from Sarah Zuercher with 14:02 to go.
Peoria Christian kept the Lady Dragons off the scoreboard after the early flurry, and had the better chances to score in the second half.
Pekin goalie Morgan Lynn wasn’t tested much in the first half, but Lindsay Coffey needed to be sharp in the second half. The two combined for five saves. Peoria Christian goalie Kristen Smith also had five saves.
Players on both teams were dragging a bit late in the game, played on a unseasonably warm, sunny afternoon.
“We’re not used to playing when the temperature is in the 80’s,” Sandoval said.
Pekin is now 7-0 in invitational history and has outscored its opponents 27-0 in those seven games.
The Lady Dragons will face Lincoln (2-8) at 9 a.m. and Normal West (7-2-2) at 3:30 p.m. today.