The UIS men's soccer team (0-1-0) fell to Alabama-Huntsville (1-0-0) in a tightly contested season opener, with a final score of 2-1 at Kiwanis Stadium.
The match began with Illinois Springfield facing an early challenge as UAH's Oli Orzechowski scored just under ten minutes into play, putting the visitors ahead 1-0. The Prairie Stars responded assertively, with goalkeeper
Kevin Kardel making critical saves to keep the deficit at one.
Gentil Selemani then equalized for Illinois Springfield, leveling the score at 1-1 before the halftime break.
In the second half, UIS faced a challenging phase as UAH's Oli Orzechowski notched another goal, increasing UAH's lead to 2-1. The Prairie Stars' attempts to equalize included shots from
Jacob Shaw and
Liam McLean, but both were thwarted by the opposing defense. A significant setback occurred when Selemani received a red card at 86:22, reducing Illinois Springfield to ten players. UIS was unable to find the equalizer in the final minutes.
Kevin Kardel recorded six saves during the first start of his collegiate career, providing a strong defensive presence for Illinois Springfield.
"It was a tough game. We knew they would be very physical and direct and live for set pieces and long throws, which they scored from on two free kicks. I thought we grew into the game and found ourselves level in the first half," said UIS head men's soccer coach
Graham Shaw. "In the second, we created some good chances and probably did enough to get ourselves level for a second time, but we couldn't find it. We move on to Western Illinois now on Sunday, and it's a good opportunity to bounce back."
The Prairie Stars will travel to Macomb, Ill., to face Western Illinois on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 4:00 p.m.
