The Illinois Springfield men's soccer team created several quality scoring chances but came up empty in a 2-0 road loss to Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday afternoon. The Prairie Stars move to 2-7-3 overall and 1-6-2 in the GLVC, while the Tritons improve to 3-3-5 and 2-2-4 in conference play.
The opening minutes were lively, with both sides trading early opportunities.
Mahomet Doucoure and
Adam Knaze each tested the UMSL goalkeeper in the first five minutes, and
Robin Lemke Bergseth added two more early attempts on target. UMSL responded with a flurry of shots midway through the half before breaking through in the 29th minute. Off a corner kick, a header across goal from Colton Milosch found Roman Ryabchenko for a tap-in to make it 1-0.
UIS pushed back with chances from
Corne Boshoff and Lemke Bergseth, but UMSL held the lead into halftime. In the 69th minute, the Tritons doubled their advantage when Milosch finished a cross from Mario Garcia.
Lemke Bergseth led UIS with five shots and four on goal, including two dangerous looks in the second half that were turned away by UMSL keeper Jack Franklin.
Gentil Selemani and
Cameron Frye also added attempts on frame as UIS continued to press.
Despite generating 12 total shots and an 8-6 edge in corner kicks, the Prairie Stars couldn't convert against Franklin, who finished with six saves. UIS goalkeeper
Edoardo Pinna also recorded six saves, including several key stops in traffic.
Up Next
UIS returns home next weekend for a pair of matches at Kiwanis Stadium, hosting Maryville on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and McKendree on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
