URBANA — In the final regular-season game of his high school career, center midfielder Jake Seeley scored both of Uni’s goals as the host Illineks defeated Monticello 2-1 Thursday at the DCR Soccer Complex.

Seeley's game winner was a fitting way to end senior night. The nonconference victory lifted Uni’s record to 10-8-1 overall, 3-1 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

The victory assured Uni of a winning season no matter what happens in the Class A Monticello sectional playoffs, which begin today when 15th-seeded Mt. Carmel visits the No. 2 Illineks. The game will start at 4 p.m. at DCR Field No. 9 on the west side of the complex.

Thursday's game was a possible preview of the second round of the playoffs. If Uni defeats Mt. Carmel and Monticello beats Catlin Salt Fork on Saturday, then the Illineks and Sages would play each other again on Tuesday. The winner of that game would advance to the sectional semifinals on Oct. 19.

If the Illineks do wind up playing Monticello again, they got a major confidence boost from their performance Thursday. The Sages entered the contest fresh off a surprising tie with the sectional's No. 1 seed, Judah Christian, a team that beat Uni 5-0 in late August.

"They’re a very good team," Uni head coach Philip Anders said of Monticello. "I think it goes to show our sectional is going to be an interesting one."

Sixteen minutes into Thursday's game, Seeley put Uni on top with his seventh goal of the season. Sophomore Dan Lilly set up the score with a through-pass, his fourth assist of the year.

After entering halftime with a 1-0 lead, the Illineks remained ahead for the first 30 minutes of the second half. But the Sages evened the score with 10 minutes left as they connected on a cross pass from the right side of the goal.

"They had been attacking," Anders said. "A lot of their style is just to kick the ball forward and run after it. And that’s what happened. They got the ball into the corner. We had kind of a defensive lapse; we lost the ball in the corner. And the guy got it, crossed it back, and we just let it roll through. It was a defensive lapse, which was one of few in the whole game."

In previous contests, Uni might have gone into a funk after giving up the tying score. This time the Illineks kept attacking until Seeley nailed the winning goal with five minutes left thanks to a through-pass from junior Carter Hutchens.

To Anders, Uni's performance after Monticello tied the game was the most encouraging part of the contest, especially when compared to how the Illineks played in some of their recent losses, such as the 7-0 defeat by St. Thomas More on Oct. 4.

"The difference is that after the goal they [Monticello] scored to tie, we did not get down," Anders said. "And we’ve done that. This is a young team, emotional — they're young. We've had a problem where — the St. Thomas More game from last week is a good example — where just one goal went in and everybody got disappointed and six goals [were scored] in 15 minutes. That’s tough. That’s obviously not because this is a bad team. It’s just a complete mental letdown. The difference here was that we just did not let that happen."

Senior goalkeeper Isaac Radnitzer ended the day with seven saves, including five in the first half. The Illineks had six shots on goal, four in the second half.

Now the team's attention switches to the postseason. The Monticello sectional is one of the more evenly matched Class A brackets in the state. As St. Thomas More head coach Dave Cox said last week, any of the top 10 seeds could win the title and advance to the IHSA state tournament.

But before the Illineks think that far ahead, they need to take care of business against first-round opponent Mt. Carmel, ranked last out of 15 teams in the sectional.

"We learned early in this season there isn’t any given game," Anders said. "We're not taking anyone lightly. We certainly can’t let down for that."

MORE PHOTOS: UNI VS. MONTICELLO

Holden Bucher (10) praises Jake Seeley (2) during senior night festivities after the varsity game. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE SEASON SO FAR

2007 BOYS SOCCER VARSITY RECORD: 10-8-1 overall, 3-1 East Central Illinois Conference
(home games listed in bold)

Aug. 25: Oakwood (Uni High Soccer Shoot Out), W 5-1

• Story: Illineks win first game of season-opening tournament
• Halftime score: Uni 2, Oakwood 1
• Uni goals: Dan Lilly 2 (season total: 2); Holden Bucher 1 (season total: 1); Sam Imlay 1 (season total: 1); Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 1)
• Uni assists: Sam Imlay 2 (season total: 2); David Hjelmstad 1 (season total: 1); Stephen Prochaska 1 (season total: 1); Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 1)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 6

Aug. 25: Blue Ridge (Uni High Soccer Shoot Out), W 1-0

• Story: Sophomore's first varsity goal turns out to be game winner
• Halftime score: Uni 0, Blue Ridge 0
• Uni goal: Eddie Diazmunoz (season total: 1)
• Uni assist: Holden Bucher (season total: 1)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 13

Aug. 25: Fisher (Uni High Soccer Shoot Out), T 1-1

• Story: Uni wins seventh consecutive Shoot Out title
• Halftime score: Uni 1, Fisher 1
• Uni goal: Eddie Diazmunoz (season total: 2)
• Uni assist: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 11

Aug. 28: at Judah Christian, L 5-0 *

• Story: Judah downs Uni
• Halftime score: Judah Christian 2, Uni 0
• Uni goals: none
• Uni assists: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 8
• JV game: Judah Christian 1, Uni 0

Aug. 30: Mahomet-Seymour, L 1-0

• Story: Mahomet-Seymour shuts out Illineks
• Halftime score: 0-0
• Uni goals: none
• Uni assists: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 18
• JV game: Mahomet-Seymour 3, Uni 1 (goal by Loic Hostetter, with assist by Eric Fritzsche)

Sept. 4: at Fisher, W 2-0

• Story: Illineks get back on scoreboard, defeat Fisher 2-0
• Halftime score: Uni 1, Fisher 0
• Uni goals: Stephen Prochaska 1 (season total: 1); Holden Bucher 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni assists: Holden Bucher 1 (season total: 2); Neil Pearson 1 (season total: 1)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 5
• JV game: Fisher 4, Uni 2 (Uni goals by Richard Weisbach, with assist by Grant Loos; Loic Hostetter, with assist by Jasper Maniates-Selvin)

Sept. 6: Decatur Christian, W 3-0 *

• Story: Bucher leads Uni to 3-0 win
• Halftime score: 0-0
• Uni goals: Holden Bucher 2 (season total: 4); Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni assists: Russell Prochaska 1 (season total: 1); Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 1); Seeley 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 3
• JV game: none

Sept. 8: Sullivan, W 2-0 (game called after first half due to lightning)

• Story: Uni wins game shortened by lightning
• Halftime score: 2-0
• Uni goals: Carter Hutchens 1 (season total: 1); Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 3)
• Uni assists: Jake Seeley 2 (season total: 4)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 2
• JV game: none

Sept. 11: at Oakwood, L 2-1

• Story: Comets get payback, beat Illineks 2-1
• Halftime score: 2-1
• Uni goal: Jake Seeley (season total: 3)
• Uni assist: Julian Hartman (season total: 1)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 11
• JV game: Uni 1, Oakwood 1 (unofficial match; Uni goal by Radnitzer)

Sept. 13: Iroquois West, W 4-0

• Story: Uni bounces back from Oakwood loss, shuts out Iroquois West
• Halftime score: 3-0
• Uni goals: Dan Lilly 2 (season total: 5); Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 4); Isaac Radnitzer (season total: 1)
• Uni assists: Carter Hutchens 1 (season total: 1); Julian Hartman 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 9
• JV game: none (intra-squad scrimmage)

Sept. 14: Schlarman, W 3-1

• Story: Hamer comes up big in first varsity game as Illineks down Hilltoppers
• Halftime score: Uni 2, Schlarman 1
• Uni goals: Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 6); Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 5); Holden Bucher 1 (season total: 5)
• Uni assists: Jake Seeley 1 (season total: 5); Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 2); Julian Hartman 1 (season total: 3)
• Uni saves: Nile Hamer 10
• JV game: Uni 2, Schlarman 1

Sept. 18: at Decatur Lutheran, W 4-0 *

• Story: Uni defeats Decatur Lutheran
• Halftime score: 3-0
• Uni goals: Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 7); Carter Hutchens 1 (season total: 2); Stephen Prochaska 1 (season total: 2); Sam Imlay 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni assists: Jake Seeley 2 (season total: 7); Sam Imlay 1 (season total: 3)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 4, Nile Hamer 2
• JV game: none

Sept. 20: at Champaign Central, L 7-1

• Story: Central gets even for last year's upset
• Halftime score: Central 4, Uni 1
• Uni goal: Eddie Diazmunoz (season total: 3)
• Uni assist: Noel Knox (season total: 1)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 25
• JV game: Central 4, Uni 0

Sept. 24: Warrensburg-Latham, L 2-0

• Story: Warrensburg-Latham's undefeated streak reaches 30 after downing Uni
• Halftime score: 0-0
• Uni goals: none
• Uni assists: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 15
• JV game: Uni 1, Warrensburg-Latham 1 (Uni goal by Noel Knox)

Sept. 29: at Urbana, L 5-0

• Story: Uni ends tough stretch by falling to Urbana
• Halftime score: Urbana 4, Uni 0
• Uni goals: none
• Uni assists: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 11
• JV game: Urbana 5, Uni 0

Oct. 2: at Tolono Unity, L 2-1

• Story: Unity upsets Illineks
• Halftime score: Uni 1, Unity 0
• Uni goal: Noel Knox (season total: 1)
• Uni assist: Jake Seeley (season total: 8)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 7
• JV game: Uni 4, Tolono Unity 0 (Uni goals: Chris Mathy 3, Richard Weisbach 1)

Oct. 4: St. Thomas More, L 7-0

• Story: Illineks drop fifth straight
• Halftime score: St. Thomas More 6, Uni 0
• Uni goals: none
• Uni assists: none
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 4
• JV game: St. Thomas More 2, Uni 0

Oct. 9: Normal Calvary Baptist, W 5-0 *

• Story: Uni shuts out Normal Calvary Baptist, ends losing streak
• Halftime score: Uni 2, Normal Calvary Baptist 0
• Uni goals: Dan Lilly 2 (season total: 9), Carter Hutchens 1 (season total: 3), Jake Seeley 1 (season total 6), Holden Butcher 1 (season total: 6)
• Uni assists: Jake Seeley 2 (season total: 10), Alex Zhai 1 (season total: 1), Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 3)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 5
• JV results: The junior varsity participated in the Monticello Tournament on Monday, going 0-2. The team lost to St. Thomas More 3-0 in its first match and 5-3 to Judah Christian in its second. In the Judah game, Noel Knox scored two goals and Jasper Maniates-Selvin one. Maniates-Selvin assisted on Knox's first goal; Loic Hostetter assisted on the other. Eric Fritzsche assisted on Maniates-Selvin's goal.

Oct. 11: Monticello, W 2-1

• Story: see above
• Halftime score: Uni 1, Monticello 0
• Uni goals: Jake Seeley 2 (season total: 8)
• Uni assists: Dan Lilly 1 (season total: 4), Carter Hutchens 1 (season total: 2)
• Uni saves: Isaac Radnitzer 7
• JV game: Uni 1, Monticello 0 (Uni goal: Eric Fritzsche, assist by Richard Weisbach)

Next opponent: Mt. Carmel, Friday, Oct. 12, at DCR Soccer Complex Field No. 9 (west side of complex); Class A playoff game to begin at 4 p.m.

* East Central Illinois Conference game