Cougars Women’s Soccer loses to Kaskaskia

Dane Parkhurst – ICC Harbinger

East Peoria, IL – There were many fans in attendance and the weather was perfect for Thursdays women’s soccer matchup between the Illinois Central College Cougars (3-2-0) and the Kaskaskia College Blue Devils (2-1-0).

There was no shortage of action in the first half, as both teams got off to an early start in the scoring department. Within just a few minutes of play Kylie Bilek of Kaskaskia scored two goals, beating the cougars defense and driving to the net. This gave the Blue Devils an early 2-0 lead.

The Cougars were quick to retaliate. With a beautiful assist from teammate Savanna Fleeman at 41:45, Freshman Macy Sophanavong put a shot in the upper right hand corner of the net. This was followed shortly by another Kaskaskia goal less than a minute later. After only five minutes gone off of the clock, the Blue Devils led the Cougars 3-1.

Action in the first period took only a short hiatus. At 25 minutes, Macy Sophanavong saw another scoring chance via penalty kick, but missed by just inches, putting a hard shot off of the crossbar. ICC drew another penalty in the offensive zone just a minute later, this time with a successful outcome. Savanna Fleeman scored, putting the Cougars one goal behind their opponent with half of the first period left.

Kaskaskia took dominance in the latter half of the first period. Kylie Bilek completed her hat trick, out-hustling the Cougars defense once again. This was followed by another Blue Devils goal from, Jessica Albers, on a long shot from outside of the box.

With a minute left in the first period, the Cougar’s Sam Morgan made a great defensive effort blocking a shot in front of an open net. Despite her commendable attempt at stopping a last minute goal, the ball was cleared out to a Kaskaskia forward who netted a goal. The fast paced period ended with Kaskaskia in the lead, 6-2.

The return to play in the second period started off strong for the Cougars. Savanna Fleeman made a long pass to Sophomore Cassidy Waltz for an ICC score. Fleeman proved to be in tune with her teammates, giving them multiple opportunities in the offensive zone.

The second half was much quieter than the action packed first. Both squads consistently looked to their benches for relief. A lot of midfield back and forth happened for a majority of the period.

At 24:45 came another Blue Devils goal in a scramble in front of ICC’s net. Ten minutes later ICC’s Cassidy Waltz saw another scoring opportunity on a breakaway. She missed, just wide of the net. The Cougar defense tightened up in the last ten minutes of play, and their offense seemed to be much more focused than before. The game ended with a score of 7-3 in favor of the Kaskaskia Blue Devils. They have outscored opponents 24-4 in their first four games.

The Cougars play Heartland College at the Corn Crib in Bloomington Tuesday, with kickoff scheduled for 5:00 pm. We’ll have full updates and coverage from that one.

Team Twitter: @iccladysoccer | Harbinger Sports Twitter: @ICCSportsLive