The men’s soccer team appeared
to have outplayed its opponents last
weekend, but once again struggled to
convert scoring chances into goals,
drawing one game and losing another.
In the opening game of the road
trip to the state of Illinois, Lawrence
outshot Illinois College 13-9 and
held possession for a majority of the
game, but could not get past the Blue
Boys’ goaltender Kevin Beermann,
who notched six saves.
The Lawrence defense kept the
Vikings in the game, holding Illinois
College to four shots on target, but
a 60th-minute corner kick from
Cameron Stuart found Travis Wilson,
who guided it home for a Blue Boy
lead.
Wilson’s goal would be enough
for Illinois as the 1-0 score held as
final, putting to rest any remaining
playoff hopes for coach Blake
Johnson’s Lawrence squad. With the
loss, the Vikings were eliminated
from contention for a spot in the
Midwest Conference tournament.
Despite their lack of postseason
hopes, the Vikings headed back
onto the field the next day against
Monmouth to try to establish a
foundation for next season’s play.
Lawrence struck first in the 41st
minute when freshman midfielder
Matt Horn put away a ball from Billy
Bunzel. The goal was Horn’s first of
his collegiate career.
Less than three minutes after
Lawrence took the lead, Monmouth
answered on a corner kick when
Daniel Medina lofted the ball into the
box and Andrew Sheller put it away
to tie the score. Both teams would
have their chances in the second
half, but could not convert and the
game went to overtime.
In overtime, referee Larry McNett
chose to tighten his officiating, calling
three frivolous fouls and issuing
a yellow card before five minutes
had elapsed. As any further bookings
could have resulted in nextgame
suspensions for the players,
the two coaches decided to agree to
end play and draw.
The draw is Lawrence’s fifth of
the season, and the Vikings’ record
now stands at 3-7-5 (1-3-4 MWC). The
Vikings take on St. Norbert Saturday
and then close out the season at
UW-Superior on Halloween.
Men’s soccer tripped up in Illinois
