Eureka Shuts Out Blackburn on the Road, 2-0

CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka women's soccer team took down Blackburn 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon, securing the team's second shutout of the season over the Beavers.

The Red Devils scored a pair of first-half goals and kept the home team off the board in the second half to clinch the season series sweep in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

Less than 14 minutes into the match, Madison Shines (Marengo, Ill./Marengo) put the Red Devils on the board after winning a 50-50 ball in the box and sending it past the keeper. It was her third goal of the season.

In the 30th minute, Lindsey Johnston (Evansville, Ind./Harrison) placed a penalty kick in the lower left corner of the goal to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead and tally her first goal of the season. The Red Devils controlled possession and pace from the first whistle to the last.

Eureka's defense limited Blackburn to just one shot on goal and four shots total. Junior goalkeeper Abby Swope (Canton, Ill./Canton) recorded her second clean sheet of the season.

On the other end of the pitch, the Red Devils notched a season-high 24 shots and 13 shots-on-goal. Johnston led the way with 13 shots and eight on frame, while Shines had nine shots and four on frame. As a team, Eureka also recorded a season-high eight corner kicks.

The maroon and gold benefitted from having its full squad active on Wednesday. The team welcomed back key defender Emma Harris (Streator, Ill./Streator) and goalkeeper-turned-field player Kayla Enochs (Greenfield, Ind./Central Greenfield) and multi-sport athletes Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) and Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich./Concord) made an impact in their season debuts.

Eureka is now 2-5 on the spring and looking to close the regular season strong in a 1 p.m. contest at Webster (4-3) on Saturday.