Eureka Wins 1-0, Completes Season Sweep Over Blackburn

EUREKA – The Eureka women's soccer team completed its season series sweep over St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Blackburn with a 1-0 victory over the Beavers Wednesday at McKinzie Field.

The win, which moved the team to 3-7 on the season and 2-5 in SLIAC play, was the Red Devils' fourth straight over Blackburn dating back to last spring and it marked the team's third shutout of the season.

Madison Shines (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) netted the lone goal of the match late in the first half and, though they were unable to build on the lead, the Red Devils made it stand the rest of the way.

In the 38th minute, Eureka senior Lindsey Johnston sent a through ball up the field for Shines to run onto in the attacking third. A Blackburn defender got it first and passed it back to the keeper, but the Red Devils' leading scorer was on it.

She got her foot on it as the keep slid at her and received it after a bounce in the air and passed it into the empty net to put Eureka on the board. It ended up being the match-winner.

Shines now has six goals on the season and 15 in her career, putting her one goal away from a tie for fourth in program history.

The Red Devils had plenty of chances to add to the lead – tallying 16 shots and putting seven on frame over 90 minutes – but nothing else went through. Eureka controlled most of the match, particularly after the team settled in midway through the first half.

Shines posted three shots on goal, center midfielder Daniela Gonzales (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) added two and outside midfielder Alyssa Bryant (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) and defender Emma Harris (Streator, Ill./Streator) each contributed one.

Eureka's back line of Harris (Streator, Ill./Streator), Kayla Enochs (Greenfield, Ind./Central Greenfield), Michaela Mall (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) and Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) did a good job keep the ball off its side and limiting the visitors' chances.

Goalkeeper Abby Swope (Canton, Ill./Canton), who is only four saves away from breaking into the top 24 in NCAA Division III history, only had to make two saves on the night.

Eureka (3-7, 2-5 SLIAC) will next complete the first half of SLIAC play with a road match at Westminster (3-5, 3-3) on Saturday at 3 p.m.