ST. LOUIS, MO – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's soccer team maintained strong position in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) standings following Friday's 2-0 conference win over Maryville University.
"It was a great performance by the players," UIS coach
Adam Hall said. "We had a plan and it worked."
UIS (4-3, 4-1) and Maryville (5-2, 3-2) were two of five teams that entered Friday tied for second in the conference standings with a 3-1 record. Maryville is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II national poll and is ranked No. 4 in the USC NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll.
Naba Alzhryi and
Mario Falsone provided goals for the Prairie Stars while
Javier Milla added an assist.
Tommy Geile provided his third shutout of the season, rejecting each of the nine shots he faced. He ranks second in the conference with an .829 save percentage so far this season.
The Saints displayed an aggressive offensive attack as they outshot the Prairie Stars by a 13-to-6 margin and held a 9-to-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Both teams battled temperatures that reached 95 degrees.
"Being a very hot day on turf meant a lot of the players were going to be tired but every single player that came on provided new positive energy for the squad," Geile commented.
"I asked a lot of the whole squad in the blistering heat," Hall added. "That rubber surface really drained them but we rotated a lot. Hopefully we are in good shape to compete at it again on Sunday."
During the 15th minute, Milla delivered a serve to the left side where Alzhyri sent a header to the right side to give UIS a 1-0 lead.
"Javier put a great ball right into my path to head the ball in," Alzhyri recalled.
"It was a great goal," Milla acknowledged. "I saw Naba asking me for the ball in the box and I swung it just as we practice during the week."
Alex Zarco fed Falsone a through ball. Falsone drove up the field and scored the unassisted goal during the 17th minute.
"I'm really happy to score my third goal of the season and help the team to victory," Falsone admitted.
UIS utilized its two-goal lead by playing a more conservative tempo for the remainder of the match.
"Getting those two quick goals from Naba and Mario in the first half was big for us as a team," Geile said. "It allowed the back line to sit back some and keep most of the balls away from the goal."
Alzhyri, Falsone and
Alex Morais contributed a shot on goal apiece.
The Saints received a shot on goal from Nico Andrade, Helmut Florencia, Pontus Gitselov, Helgi Jonsson, Joergen Pettersen, Sam Scoles, JD Sohn, Rasmus Tauts and Iwan Webster.
Maryville goalkeeper Christi Kjaersgaard faced three shots and collected one save.
"The squad is playing great together and the season is looking very positive," Falsone stated.
UIS wraps up its road trip to St. Louis on Sunday in a 2:30 p.m. conference matchup with the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) (3-3-1, 3-2).
"We must keep this hard work up and keep pushing," Alzhryri commented. "We have the depth and talent this year to do great things."
PRAIRIE STAR NOTES
Falsone moved into a fifth-place tie among UIS Division II career leaders with eight goals...Geile matched his Division II single-season record with three shutouts...Alzhyri is one of seven players in the conference to haved two game-winning goals on the season.
