Chicago, Ill. - As they did on Wednesday night against Aurora, the Illinois Tech men's soccer team got off to a good start against St. Norbert Saturday afternoon at Stuart Field, scoring the game's first goal 17 minutes in. But as was the case against Aurora, the Scarlet Hawks couldn't hold off the Green Knights, as they scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Hawks 4-1. With the loss, the Scarlet Hawks dropped to 3-5-1 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, and 4-7-6 overall. The Green Knights improved to 6-2-1 in NACC play, and 7-5-2 overall.

The Scarlet Hawks dropped into a three-way tie for the eighth and final post-season conference tournament berth, along with Edgewood and Benedictine. Edgewood owns the tie-breaker with the Hawks based on their 2-1 victory over Illinois Tech earlier in the season. Illinois Tech and Benedictine will face each other this coming Wednesday night in Lisl, Illinois.

How It Happened

• Illinois Tech got on the the board first in the 17th minute. Michael Kaczowka took at ball at midfield and lofted the ball to the right sideline to Anthony Paiotti. Paiotti slowed the ball down against his defender, then sped up to the outside towards the back line, sending a cross into the box that Kaczowka, who had raced in from the center circle, tapped into the left side of the net for a 1-0 Scarlet Hawks lead.
• The Illinois Tech lead would be short-lived, however, as St. Norbert responded just under three minutes later. With the Scarlet Hawks defending in their left corner, St. Norbert's John O'Connor escaped from the corner and headed toward the net. The ball was poked away from O'Connor but the Green Knights' Joe Meade recovered, and pivoted toward the left post. As defenders closed in, Meade passed back to Tyler Bonin at the top of the goal box. Bonin spun around and tucked the ball into the center of the net, tying the score at 1-1.
• St. Norbert would take the lead in the 51st minute. A Scarlet Hawk throw-in on the left sideline inside the Hawks' zone was intercepted by O'Connor. O'Connor worked his way to the inside towards the goal box, passing to his right to Meade. Meade quickly pushed the ball forward to Bonin, who tapped it to Kevin Ramirez, and Ramirez tucked the ball into the right corner of the net for a 2-1 St. Norbert lead.
• Eight minutes later, the Green Knights extended their lead. Ramirez received a pass just on the outer edge of the center circle inside Illinois Tech territory. He sent a through ball up the left seam to Bonin. As Bonin approached the penalty area, he passed to his right to a wide-open Joe Meade. Meade's shot hit the crossbar on the right side of the net, and the ball deflected down into the net for a 3-1 Green Knights lead.
• The Green Knights closed out the scoring in the 64th minute. Bonin picked up a loose ball at the right corner of the penalty area and headed towards the goal box. As the Scarlet Hawk defender closed in on him, he passed to the left front of the net, where Anthony Elert had an easy tap-in for St. Norbert, extending their lead to 4-1.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Kaczowka with a goal on 3 shots on goal in 50 minutes played
• Paiotti with one assist and one shot in 76 minutes
• Christian Garcia had 4 shots, with one shot on goal, in 64 minutes

Green Knights Watch

• Bonin with one goal, his 8th of the season, and 3 assists in 69 minutes played. He led all players with 6 shots, 4 on frame
• Meade with one goal and one assist, with 5 shots, in 69 minutes played
• Elert with one goal on two shots, in 26 minutes

Inside The Box Score

• The Scarlet Hawks had 17 fouls called in the contest; St. Norbert was whistled for 6 fouls
• Each team was assessed two yellow cards

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks travel to Lisle, Illinois on Wednesday for a critical NACC matchup with Benedictine at 7:00 PM.