Cougars Men’s Soccer drops game to Morton College

East Peoria, IL – The weather was perfect for Saturday’s soccer match at the CougarPlex between the Illinois Central College Cougars (2-1-0) and the Morton College Panthers (4-0-0).

The Cougars got off to a fiery start, showing strong offensive presence in the first 10 minutes of the match. Federico Zanna played an aggressive midfield, using hustle and awareness to provide ICC with some good scoring opportunities in the first half. Around the 15-minute mark Morton College was able to make an advance down field, only to miss a header by just inches above the crossbar.

The last 10 minutes of the period were busy for the Cougar forwards. A series of penalties by Morton College led to numerous shots on goal for ICC. A corner kick by Federico Zanna with 2 minutes to go missed the net by just a few feet. The Cougars finished the first half with a lot of momentum, despite missing some close scoring chances.

During the rare instance of a Panther offensive drive down the field, ICC’s defense was mostly impermeable through the first 45 minutes. The communication between Ademola Baker, Christian Junna, and Tacuma Sadlow proved to be a strong point in the Cougar’s defensive play. Morton College couldn’t seem to find their rhythm, getting only one shot on goal.

Despite a dull performance by the Panthers and many scoring situations from the Cougars, the period ended without a score from either team.

ICC carried their momentum into the second period. After just 2 minutes, Olivier Pincourt netted a goal via a Morton College defensive turnover, putting ICC in the lead 1-0. After that, play died down substantially, with a lot of midfield back and forth between the two teams.

With 19:15 left of play, the Panthers tied the match with a goal by Freshman Malik Jones. The tables turned dramatically in the second half as Morton College’s defense was rock solid and their attack was relentless. ICC’s defensive efforts were not as prominent as the first half.

With 80 minutes of the match gone, the Panther’s Malik Jones scored his second goal, taking the lead, 2-1. ICC made an honorable attempt to tie it up in the last 10 minutes of the match, drawing 2 fouls in less than a minute. Tacuma Sadlow displayed some nice footwork, making a drive to the net but missed wide with a few minutes left on the clock.

As the intensity grew and the clock winded down, tempers from both sides were high. During a scramble in front of the net, the Morton College goalie was injured. A few players from both sides got involved in a tussle with a minute left on the clock, resulting in a red card for Federico Zanna of the Cougars. As the buzzer sounded, the final score read 2-1, in favor of the visiting Morton College Panthers. This puts the Cougars at an even (2-2-0) record, while the Panthers stay undefeated (5-0-0).

The Cougars have string of away games in their future, starting at Lincoln College on Tuesday, September 4th, at 4:00 pm.