Men's soccer falls short in 4-3 loss to Illinois College

Jacksonville, IL – Millikin University men's soccer suffered its third loss of the young season Tuesday night, falling 4-3 to Illinois College at England Stadium. With the loss, the Big Blue slide to 0-3, while the Blueboys improve to 2-1-1.

Illinois College wasted little time finding the back of the net, scoring in the 2nd and 5th minutes to take an early 2-0 lead. Millikin would respond less than three minutes later when a pass from Luke Butler to Aquiles Yibirin would put the Big Blue on the board with Yibirin's first goal of the season. The Blueboys answered in the 24th minute, increasing their lead to 3-1. Illinois College carried that two-goal advantage into the half.

Ten minutes into the second half, Illinois College added another goal, with Jake Ruiz finding the back of the net to push the Blueboys' lead to 4-1. Senior Olav Kaldahl scored his first goal of the season at the end of the 66th minute following a foul by Illinois College, cutting the deficit to 4-2. With 48 seconds remaining in the second half, Bryce Davis fired a shot into the back of the net for his first goal of his senior season, bringing the Big Blue to within one at 4-3. Illinois College held on through the final moments of the game, surviving a late push by the Big Blue to secure the win.

"We are so close to putting it all together, we look dangerous, but those small mistakes keep hurting us" said Head Coach Charlie Ward. "The support has been fantastic, and we appreciate everyone that has come out to watch us play".

Men's soccer will look to grab its first win of the season when it travels to Carlinville, Illinois, to take on Blackburn College (1-2) on Thursday, September 10 at 2:00 p.m.