Ladies Struggle Through Injuries

EAST PEORIA — A tough regular season full of adversity has finally come to an end for the Illinois Central College womens soccer team.

“We were injury prone this year,” said coach Emily Points. “When you have missing links out there it really affects how you play.”

The Cougars (4-13) started the season 0-5 and were battling injuries at that point.

The Cougars finally broke through with a12-0 win against Robert Morris University at EastSide Centre on Sept.18.

The Cougars also went on to win their next two games.

“When we had everyone back, we won,” said Points about the winning streak.

After the short winning streak, ICC would go on to lose eight matches, battling injuries again with five players out at the time.

“When we had the injuries, we went back down to losing,” said Points. “We had no depth; if we had two subs we had to put them at different positions, so they weren’t able to excel at their positions.”

In the final regular season game of the year, which was also sophomore night, the Cougars played against Robert Morris again and the outcome stayed the same with ICC winning 14-0.

Sophomore Katelynne Hansen scored five goals in the game while freshman Jesla Bolen and sophomore Maddie Cordts both added three goals.

The team celebrated the nine sophomores that are leaving the team after the season, which include Hansen, Cordts, Courtney Clark, Summer Connett, Karlie Diveley, Lauren Hicks, Miranda Morgan, Jesse Markas and Courtney Williams.

“My two years at ICC were filled with struggles, learning, and excitement, but ultimately we were able to come together and express our passion for soccer,” said Morgan. “Being apart of a team is one of the most special things a person can ever experience and I am privileged to have been part of this team.”

Hannah Miller will be the player to look out for next fall when the Cougars kick off their next season.

“She works very hard and will be a good leader for the freshman,” said Points. “She will probably run our defense.”

The Cougars are currently in the midst of recruiting players for next year’s team, and they are looking to add eight to ten players to replace the nine that are graduating.

“We have to be deeper next year,” said Points.

The Cougars start postseason play on Oct. 27, at what Points believes will be Parkland, in the first round of the Region XXIV tournament.