Pekin 3, Moline 1

After Moline had held 2008 state semifinalist Normal West to one goal and shut out perennial power Richwoods to open the season, it wasn’t likely that the Pekin girls' soccer team would hand them their first loss of the season. But after falling behind 1-0, the Lady Dragons (3-2) stormed back with three goals in a nine-minute span for the 3-1 road win on Saturday.

“I thought going into the season we could surprise some teams," Pekin coch Edgar Sandoval said. "They definitely weren’t expecting this from us after going 1-0-1 against those heavyweights.”

Moline (2-1-1) got on the board first when midfielder Cory Buenting lofted a shot that got caught in the wind and dropped into the Pekin net fifteen minutes into the first half.


Pekin got the equalizer about 20 minutes later on a goal by Colleen Quilty, who scored on a pass from her younger sister, Michaela. Quilty found the net again about 10 minutes later, beating the Moline goalkeeper for the go-ahead score.

“Colleen had a heck of a match today. She wanted it more than their midfielders and finished strong twice. And lots of credit to Holly (Spangler). Often the pass that sets up the assist is overlooked, but I recognize she created those chances as much as Michaela and Emily (LaBanca).”

The Lady Dragons added one insurance goal two minutes into the second half, as Jakki Johnson was able to score from just inside the right sideline.