Eureka Holds on at Rockford, 4-3

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Eureka men's soccer team improved to 2-1 with a 4-3 victory at Rockford on Wednesday night.

The Red Devils had the upper hand for most of the match, but they couldn't quite put the Regents away.

The home team answered three of the four Eureka strikes, including the last one with 45 seconds left, intensifying the final stretch of regulation.

Eureka's returning leading scorer Khalil Alleyne (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Fatima College/Lincoln) found the back of the net twice for the visitors. He put the Red Devils on the board with his first goal of the season in the sixth minute, and he later notched EC's last goal of the night on an assist by Michael DeCarlo (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) in the 80th minute.

Rockford evened the score in the 30th minute with a goal by Raul Martinez off a rebound. However, the Regents fell behind again less than three minutes later when an own goal crossed the line after some miscommunication in the back.

Eureka's Isaac Noriega (Chicago, Ill./ Muchin College Prep/Lincoln) scored his first goal of the season on a long shot from the right side with less than two minutes to play in the first half, giving the Red Devils a 3-1 advantage at halftime.

Stoner delivered the first goal of the second half in the 69th minute to make it a one-goal match. Eleven minutes later, Alleyne's second goal gave the Red Devils some necessary insurance.

Once Martinez put away the last goal of the night in the final minute, the Regents pushed for an equalizer, but Eureka fended off their final challenges to preserve the win.

Eureka finished with 19 shots to Rockford's 16 and put six on frame to Rockford's five.

The Red Devils have now posted three goals or more in all three of their matches this season while tallying 10 overall.

Up Next

Eureka (2-1) will next host Ripon (0-0-2) in non-conference action at McKinzie Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. Last season, the Red Hawks picked up a 4-1 win at their place. This fall, they have tied 1-1 with Wisconsin Lutheran and 0-0 with Edgewood, which Eureka topped 3-1 in its home opener on Friday.