The UIS men's soccer team is poised to wrap up the regular season this weekend as they aim to secure a return to the GLVC Tournament. The Prairie Stars will face Upper Iowa on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., followed by a matchup against Lewis on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Friday's game will be Senior Night, while Sunday's game will be Faculty & Staff Appreciation and the annual Cancer Awareness Game.
Illinois Springfield (4-6-5, 4-3-5 GLVC)
The Prairie Stars enter the final weekend of the regular season in sixth place with 17 points. Last weekend, UIS played only one conference game, facing off against the nationally recognized Indianapolis Greyhounds on Friday night. The Greyhounds attempted to take the lead three times, but each potential goal was called offsides. UIS capitalized on their opportunities but was unable to find the back of the net. Both teams' defenses stood strong, resulting in a scoreless draw that awarded each team a point. UIndy outshot UIS 23-10, holding a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Sunday's contest was the final non-conference game of the season for UIS, held at home against St. Cloud State. Both teams took their chances in what turned out to be a high-scoring contest. The first goal came in the 12th minute following a swift counterattack from the Huskies. The Prairie Stars responded quickly, netting the equalizer in the 17th minute. The goal resulted from a poor clearance by SCSU's goalkeeper to Josh Conrad. Conrad settled the ball and slipped it to Kevin Herrera, who finished off the chance. St. Cloud regained the lead in the 35th minute when Owen Worsdell delivered a great cross for Owen Wasmund to finish. Heading into the second half, both squads were pushing the pace to find another goal. UIS was able to strike in the 72nd minute when Cullen Ogbuke found space and struck the post, where the rebound dropped straight to Kevin Herrera to score his second of the contest. SCSU scored the eventual game-winner in the 76th minute when a mistimed shot fell to Philip Caputo, who slid it home to give the Huskies the lead for the third time. Despite the result, UIS outshot SCSU 7-5, with a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Kevin Herrera leads the team with four goals on the season. Joey Fitzgerald, Corne Boshoff, and Anton Aduwa-Emovon are all right behind with three goals. Fitzgerald is the team's top assister, having provided seven so far. Joe Brudnak and Edoardo Pinna have split time in goal this season. Brudnak has played in eight contests and gave up nine goals, while Pinna has started seven and allowed 15.
Upper Iowa (1-10-4, 1-8-3 GLVC)
The Peacocks are in 14th place in the GLVC, having gathered six points this season. The tough season continued last weekend as UIU lost close matches against Maryville and UMSL. Friday night against Maryville, the Saints dominated from start to finish. The Peacocks' defense stood firm throughout the first half, heading into halftime goalless. Maryville finally struck in the second half, scoring in the 58th minute. Neither team threatened in the final stages of the contest, as MU walked away with the win. Maryville outshot Upper Iowa 26-3, with a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Sunday's game came against a gritty UMSL squad that has entered the playoff picture. Looking to play spoiler, Upper Iowa knew it would need a big performance. UMSL took the lead in the 11th minute of action to set the tone. The momentum shifted in the 25th minute when Upper Iowa was awarded a penalty kick. Thomas Walle stepped up and fired it home to level the score. Both teams created multiple goal-scoring opportunities during the rest of the first half. The second half was more of the same, with UMSL trying to force the issue. The Tritons finally got the goal they so desperately needed in the 86th minute from Jon Campbell, marking his second of the day. UMSL outshot Upper Iowa 21-9, with a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal.
Julian Mesen leads the Peacocks in goals with three on the season. Daniel Pranger, Fabio Bender, and Thomas Walle have all scored two goals. Alejandro Sanchez and Daigo Adachi are the team's top assisters, each providing four. Diogo Cardoso and JJ Gonzalez-Hayes have split time in goal this season. Cardoso has played in six contests and given up 14 goals, while Pinna has started nine and allowed 19.
UIS vs. Upper Iowa History
The Prairie Stars are 1-2 against UIU historically. Last season the Stars won handily in Fayette, 4-0. This is the second year that the teams have faced off in GLVC play.
Lewis (7-2-7, 7-1-4 GLVC)
The Flyers enter the weekend third in the GLVC with 25 points, knowing they need to win both matches if they want a chance to potentially secure the regular-season title. Lewis finished its home schedule against No. 7 McKendree and Maryville.
Friday night against the Bearcats was a stalemate, as both teams defended well and tried not to give away cheap opportunities. They seemed satisfied with a point, with Lewis outshooting McKendree 9-3, though both squads managed only one shot on target.
Sunday's game against Maryville followed a similar pattern, with both teams content to sit back and avoid giving up chances. Neither side consistently tested the other's goalkeeper, and it looked like the match would end in another scoreless draw. That all changed in the 87th minute when Mason Crew picked up a ball outside the box and unleashed a powerful strike into the top corner to give the Saints the lead. Lewis was unable to recover, suffering its first loss since Sept. 5. The Flyers outshot Maryville 9-6, but the Saints held a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Arturs Gorodnickis leads the Flyers with five goals on the season. Cristian Perez, Godwin Asore, and Makonnen Stampley have each added two goals. Mikey Revell and Perez lead the team in assists, with both registering three. Sebastian Doppelhofer has started every game in goal, allowing ten goals.
UIS vs. Lewis History
UIS has a 12-13-2 historical record against the Flyers. The two teams met each other twice last season, with UIS winning 1-0 in the regular season and Lewis advancing on penalty kicks in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Flyers won in regular time against UIS was in 2019, when they secured a 2-0 victory in Romeoville.