Red Devils Postseason Hopes Still Alive After 3-1 Loss to Blue Jays

EUREKA – The Eureka men's soccer team fell 3-1 against Westminster in the final match of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season on Friday, but the Red Devils' postseason hopes remain alive.

Going into Saturday's slate of games, the Red Devils sit sixth among teams eligible for the SLIAC Tournament.

The team's fate will be decided based on Greenville's matchup against the Mississippi University for Women. If Greenville wins or ties, then the Red Devils are headed back to the tournament for the second straight year.

If MUW wins, then Friday will have been Eureka's final match of the season.

On Friday, the Red Devils conceded an early goal by Westminster's Niklas Olsson in the fifth minute.

The home side equalized the match in the 49th minute with a goal by Isaac Noriega (Chicago, Ill./Muchin College Prep/Lincoln)

The match stayed tied for 15 minutes, and then Kaedyn Royer put away the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1.

After getting close to leveling the game down the stretch, Eureka conceded again in the 84th minute. Adam Luetkemeyer scored in the 84th to make it 3-1 to wrap up a cold, rainy night at McKinzie Field.

Noriega and Khalil Alleyne (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Fatima College/Lincoln) each had a pair of shots on goal, and Tyler Russow (Streator, Ill./Streator/Illinois Valley Community College) had one.

Ayden Bencher (Morton, Ill./Morton) recorded five saves in his debut in goal for the Red Devils.