Preview: Red Devils Ready For Bright Lights Wednesday

 

EUREKA, Ill. -- With its season opener and an ensuing 11-day break from match competition nearing completion, the Eureka College men's soccer team will take its home pitch for the first time in 2017 on Wednesday when the Red Devils host in-state foe Monmouth at 7 p.m. 

 

The contest against the Fighting Scots is scheduled for McKinzie Field, EC's first men's soccer competition under the lights on the new FieldTurf.

 

Like Eureka, the Fighting Scots will come to McKinzie Field Wednesday night in search of their first victory of 2017. Monmouth is 0-6-0, dropping non-conference matches to Central, Webster, Principia, Dubuque, Illinois Wesleyan and Wabash. 

 

MC, coming off a 5-11-1 campaign last season, has been outscored 18-4 during its current skid. Agustin Miranda has scored two of MC's four goals this season. Duh Cem and Lucas Sondgeroth each have a pair of assists. Chase Stroud has played all 540 minutes in goal and has collected 18 saves.

 

Kooten Johnson is in his fifth season as head coach at Monmouth. He is 23-50-4 directing the Scots. His father, Dr. Eric Johnson, is the head coach at nearby Western Illinois. The younger Johnson was a four-year starter for his father's team and was a two-time Summit League Fall All-Academic selection. In 2010 he earned the league's All-Conference honors.

 

Eureka and Monmouth will be meeting for the first time in nearly a decade on Wednesday. Monmouth won both matches of a home-and-home series during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, including a 4-0 victory in EC's first match in program history on Sept. 1, 2007 in Monmouth. The Scots won the return match at Traister Field, 3-0 on Oct. 6, 2008.

 

The Scots are in their 46th season of intercollegiate competition. They represented the Midwest Conference in the 2001 NCAA Division III Tournament.

 

Eureka began its season on an opponent's home pitch for the first time since 2013 and just the fifth time in program history on Sept. 8, dropping a 3-0 non-conference score to NCCAA Faith Baptist Bible in Ankeny, Iowa.

 

Jordan Schmidt netted the match-winner at 15:49 for FBBC. Eureka nearly tied the contest moments later, but a drive from Eureka's James Bowen hit the post in the 18th minute. The score remained 1-0 in favor of the hosts until halftime.

 

Moments after the Red Devils were unable to take advantage of back-to-back corner kicks, the Eagles doubled their lead to 2-0 when Oleg Orlov scored at 68:28 for a 2-0 lead. The hosts put the match out of reach less than four minutes later when Andrew Baldwin finished a feed from Caleb Sturgis for a 3-0 cushion in the 72nd minute.

 

Eureka finished the match with 11 shot attempts, but only two landed on target. Senior Brady Thomas paced the visitors with five shot attempts, followed by Bowen with four. Goalkeeper Daniel Johnson made seven saves.