SPRINGFIELD, IL – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's soccer team trampled Quincy University to clinch a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament berth.
 
UIS (8-6-1, 8-4-1) captured a 3-0 victory over Quincy (5-10, 4-9) during Sunday's conference matchup. Entering Sunday, Rockhurst University (12-1-2, 11-1-1), Lewis University (11-4, 10-3), Maryville University (11-2-2, 9-2-2) and the University of Indianapolis had already clinched a GLVC Tournament bid. UIS and Bellarmine University (10-4-1, 8-4-1) punched their tickets to the GLVC Tournament on Sunday. In addition to qualifying for their first GLVC Tournament in program history, the Prairie Stars have notched the most conference wins in a single season since becoming a Division II program.
 
"It's great progress for the program," UIS coach Adam Hall said. "I am very proud of the improvement the team has shown in a short period since I took the head coaching job over a year ago. Most importantly, I am very happy for the players who have worked hard, especially the seniors. This year has been great."
 
Quincy was a team that UIS was looking out for. The Hawks had picked up key wins over the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Drury University this season.
 
"We knew that Quincy was dangerous. They've had some OK results this year, so we knew that we wanted to start the game well and the guys were brilliant."
 
The Prairie Stars emphasized gaining an early lead.
 
"We spoke about getting a good start because we knew this game was important."
 
It took only 23 seconds for the Prairie Stars to find the scoreboard and gain the momentum. Mario Falsone sent a pass to Josh Moore. Moore fed a through ball to Naba Alzhyri at the top of the box and Alzhyri found the back of the net. Falsone and Moore were both credited with assists.
 
"Josh had a great delivery," Alzhyri recalled. "I got the ball at the top of the box and slid it in. It was a quick goal that got the team going."
 
Five minutes into the match, Alzhyri fired a shot that was block. Alex Zarco rebounded the shot and gave the Prairie Stars a 2-0 lead.
 
"I hadn't scored all season, so I felt like I needed to do something for the team," Zarco recollected. "Scoring the first goal felt like a real big help."
 
Moore and Zarco made consecutive upfield passes during the sixth minute, leaving an opening for Falsone. Falsone took the shot but it was saved. Javier Milla rebounded the shot but his shot went wide. Rhys Wallace made a baseline pass 22 minutes into the match. Falsone came in for a sliding shot but the shot went wide.
 
Zarco scored his second goal of the match when he created some space, squared up and delivered the shot. The junior midfielder from Champaign, IL became the 12th person in UIS Division II history to score multiple goals in the same match.
 
"The second goal came from just moving the ball and keeping possession."
 
Following a foul 33 minutes into the match, Edward Rose served a pass to Daniel Kemp. Kemp made a header pass to create an opening for Steven Albers but Quincy goalkeeper Nate Griffin rejected Albers's shot.
 
During the 54th minute, Kyle Fraser sent a corner kick to Aubrey Reis but UIS goalkeeper Tommy Geile came up with the save. Seven minutes later, Ty Rogers sent a pass from the right corner to Reis. Reis whipped a header but the shot was saved.
 
Zarco finished the match with two goals and Alzhyri added a game-winning goal. The Prairie Stars received assists from Falsone and Moore.
 
Geile, Benjamin Shuty and Kyle Hamilton compiled a combined shutout. Geile started as goalkeeper for the opening 68 minutes, 1 second and tallied six saves. Shuty came in for the next 11:13 and Hamilton relieved for the final 10:46.
 
Griffin saved five of the eight shots he faced for the Hawks.
 
The Prairie Stars outshot the Hawks by a 21-to-16 margin.
 
Alzhyri and Zarco each contributed two shots on goal while Falsone, Wallace, Kemp and Albers each registered a shot on goal.
 
Reis and Justin Armfield recorded two shots on target apiece for the Hawks while Fraser and Simon Chretian also each produced a shot on goal.
 
The Prairie Stars close out the regular season with a GLVC matchup against Rockhurst on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Kiwanis Stadium.
 
"Hopefully after [Sunday's] performance, we'll get some more fans out and hopefully we can perform for them," Hall commented.
 
Rockhurst, which is ranked No. 2 in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II poll, clinched its third consecutive GLVC regular-season title on Sunday.
 
"Rockhurst is going to want to keep its momentum up going into the tournament. We have a great task in front of us, but we also enjoy these occasions."
 
The Prairie Stars also hold a hot hand and are looking to pull out a win and secure better position in the GLVC Tournament.
 
"We're looking to get a tough win," Zarco remarked. "They're good competition that is at the top of the conference. I feel that if we play like we did [on Sunday], then we can win."
 
"We have to do what we've been doing," Alzhyri stated. "If we compete, work hard and stay together, I think we can get this win. We've won three in a row and I think we can get this fourth win."
 
SENIOR DAY
UIS honored Alzhyri, Geile, Hamilton, Shuty, Jack Coombes, Jose Corona, Khalid Dhalla, Zach Downing, Cesar Flores and Will Teichman for Senior Day.
 
"As a group, it's been a pleasure coaching them," Hall acknowledged. "It's always challenging as a head coach when you think about losing so many characters in the locker room."
 
Alzhyri has started 32 matches in his two-year career at UIS. Among UIS Division II career leaders, Alzhyri leads in game-winning goals (5) and ranks fourth in points (20). The Nashville, TN native also holds the UIS Division II single-season record for game-winning goals (5) and ranks third in single-season goals (6). Alzhyri is tied for ninth in the GLVC in goals (6) and is one of three players in the GLVC with five game-winning goals.
 
Geile is the current UIS Division II record holder for career shutouts (10) and single-season shutouts (5). The O'Fallon, MO native has started 50 matches and notched 229 career saves. Geile currently leads the GLVC with an .849 save percentage.
 
Coombes has started 48 matches for the Prairie Stars. The Auckland, New Zealand native is tied for fourth in UIS Division II history with three career game-winning goals and tied for fifth in UIS Division II history with eight career goals.
 
Dhalla has started in 64 matches during his career. The Shattuck, MN native has contributed eight career points off three goals and two assists.
 
Hamilton has started in 18 matches and recorded two shutouts in his career. Shuty has served as goalkeeper in five career matches. Teichman has played in 48 matches and provided three career points off a goal and an assist. Flores has played in 17 career matches and Corona has played in one match this season. Downing has spent the season sidelined due to injury.
 
"There's a lot of important pieces of the puzzle graduating but I'm proud of them and I'm glad Senior Day lead to something special like making it into the playoffs."
 
PRAIRIE STAR NOTES
Among UIS Division II career leaders, Falsone is tied for fifth in career points (19) and career goals (8).