Elgin, Ill. - The Illinois
Tech women downed last years CCAC Tournament Champions, Judson University, on
Saturday afternoon. This is the first
time IIT has beaten the Lady Eagles in the programs short history.
Going in
to the game the Lady Scarlet Hawks had many factors against them. The
homecoming crowd, an unfamiliar field, the history between the two schools, and
an ever growing injury list, but nothing could stop the effort that was put
forth by IIT.
A strong
defense, lead by senior captain Sara Wilde kept the Judson offense away from
the goal and deflated their momentum. In
the second half, IIT picked up more injuries. This seemed to spark the Hawks
into life. They finished normal time as the stronger team, with Stephanie Salem
nearly scoring a last gasp winner with 3 seconds remaining in the game.
Illinois
Tech started the 1st period of overtime as they finished normal time, immediately
going on the offensive. An early foul was called against Judson in their
defensive half giving IIT a free kick which was taken by Emily Kunkel. Mary
McCabe flicked the ball into the 18 yard box, and Salem headed the ball across the six to find
Kay Durbin waiting to slam the ball past Judson's keeper for the game winner. The
strike sent the Lady Hawks players and coaches into jubilant celebrations with
the team knowing the golden goal meant the end of the game and confirming the
Hawks first ever victory over Judson University.
"This is
a great day for the program, the players, and the coaching staff," said Coach
Peacock. "To beat Judson who are lasts
years CCAC tournament Champions is a landmark for this program. It's again another sign that this program is
improving year after year. We've been
saying for a while now that we will get the right result in a big game if we
just correct a few things, and today we did just that. It wasn't the best game to watch but we got
the result. As a team we played really
well, and the players should be really proud of what they have achieved today
and so far this year."
The Lady
Scarlet Hawks travel to Wisconsin to play Cardinal Stritch University
on Wednesday and look to reach the .500 mark in conference play.
