By Michael Belmont
Gargoyle sports editor
Posted Friday, May 4, 2007, The OG, girls soccer & sports

[Correction: This article originally reported that both the time and place of Saturday's game against Judah Christian had been changed. The new time was accurate but not the location. The game was not moved from DCR Fields to Judah. This article has been corrected. We regret the error.]

WARRENSBURG — Uni gave up two goals late in the first half and another at the end of the second half to lose 3-0 to Warrensburg-Latham in a nonconference road match Thursday.

The loss drops the Illineks to 4-7-2 overall. The team remains 2-0-1 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

According to junior forward Suran Yoo, the Illineks held on for about the first 30 minutes before giving up two goals on clearance errors. Yoo said Warrensburg-Latham's third goal, which occurred late in the game, was a quality one.

Many players felt the final score didn't accurately portray the dynamics of the match.

“We could have won that game,” freshman forward Erika Belmont said.

The shutout marked the second consecutive game in which Uni has been held scoreless, and it was the team's fourth shutout overall. The Illineks lost 6-0 to Danville on Tuesday, 2-0 to Mahomet-Seymour on April 24, and 3-0 to Centennial on March 30.

The two-game scoreless stretch is the longest drought of the season for Uni. Last year the Illineks were shut out in 12 of their 15 losses.

Uni will host ECIC foe Judah Christian on Saturday.

Two more home matches remain after that before the IHSA playoffs begin at the end of next week.

The Illineks will compete in the Williamsville Class A sectional, where they are seeded eighth out of 10 teams, ahead of Monticello and Judah Christian.

The girls tied Monticello 2-2 on April 5 but have yet to play Judah. The Sages are now 2-6-3 after losing to Charleston 6-1 on Tuesday.

In the first round of playoff action, the Illineks will host Monticello on May 11 at 4:30 p.m.

“The major thing we need to work on is our intensity,” junior midfielder Sarah Pfander said earlier this week. “We need to win 50-50 balls, come out strong, and get more physical. Looking ahead to the postseason, if we want to beat Monticello the second time around, we will need to be ready to go from the beginning, and not let them get early goals the way we let Danville.”

If the Illineks defeat Monticello, they would visit top-seeded Williamsville on May 14.

VARSITY RECORD: 4-7-2 overall, 2-0-1 East Central Illinois Conference

(Games at DCR Fields are in bold)

Season Preview: Illineks look for improvement as season begins today

March 28: St. Thomas More, L 2-1

— Illinek scoring recap: Michelle Wong (penalty kick, first half)

— story: Uni drops season opener

March 30: Centennial, L 3-0

— Illinek scoring recap: no goals

— story: History is repeated in 3-0 loss to Centennial

April 3: Urbana, game canceled because of wet field conditions (will not be rescheduled)

April 5: at Monticello, T 2-2

— Illinek scoring recap: Erika Belmont (first half); Joy Shapley (second half)

— story: Illineks come back to tie Monticello

April 10: at Charleston, L 7-1

— Illinek scoring recap: Erika Belmont (first half)

— story: Close game turns into lopsided loss to Charleston

April 12: Macon Meridian, W 1-0

— Illinek scoring recap: Sarah Pfander (second half)

— story: Pfander's goal lifts Uni over Meridian for first win

April 14: Normal Calvary Baptist, W 3-2 *

— Illinek scoring recap: Suran Yoo (2 goals, both first half); Sarah Pfander (first half)

— story: Illineks ignore rain, mud to win second straight

April 17: St. Thomas More, L 4-1

— Illinek scoring recap: Suran Yoo (second half)

— story: Illineks fall again to St. Thomas More

April 19: Decatur Christian, W 3-0 *

— Illinek scoring recap: Erika Belmont (second half); Joy Shapley (second half); Chelsea Freeland (second half)

— story: Uni shuts out Decatur Christian

April 24: at Mahomet-Seymour, L 2-0

— Illinek scoring recap: no goals

— story: Illineks fall to Mahomet-Seymour 2-0

April 26: Mattoon, W 1-0

— Illinek scoring recap: Erika Belmont (first half)

— story: Uni downs Mattoon in lightning-shortened game

April 28: at Normal Calvary Baptist, T 1-1 *

— Illinek scoring recap: Joy Shapley (second half)

— story: Uni ties Calvary Baptist in road match

May 1: at Danville, L 6-0

— Illinek scoring recap: no goals

— story: Danville defeats visiting Illineks 6-0

May 3: at Warrensburg-Latham, L 3-0

— Illinek scoring recap: no goals

— story: see above

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent

Remaining games: see schedule