Pekin 5, Washington 0

PEKIN — The Pekin girls’ soccer team stretched its unbeaten streak to four matches with a 5-0 Mid-Illini Conference make-up win over Washington Thursday at Coal Miners Park.
For the second straight match, the Lady Dragons got on the board within minutes of the first whistle. Freshman Michaela Quilty finished off a corner kick from fellow freshman Sarah Zuercher for Pekin’s only goal of the first half.
“We were a little out of sync in the first half,” said Pekin coach Edgar Sandoval. “It wasn’t that we were playing poorly. We just misjudged balls and mistimed a bunch of runs. At halftime, I challenged the girls to work harder without the ball and show that they’re better than what the scoreboard read.”
The Lady Dragons responded. After a Washington foul just outside its box, Zuercher found Quilty again far post for a goal from point blank. Twenty minutes later Zuercher tallied her third assist of the game — another corner kick, this one to junior Emily LaBanca. From there, Quilty got into the giving spirit as she assisted on goals to Zuercher and senior Jakki Johnson.
Zuercher and Quilty each have six goals on the season, tying LaBanca’s Pekin record for goals scored by a freshman. The Lady Dragons (5-2-1, 3-1-1) defense was stout, limiting the Panthers to just one shot on goal.