Chicago, Ill. - After opening the season with a 4-0-1 record in non-conference play, the Illinois Tech men's soccer team had a tall task on their hands for their Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) opener Wednesday night at Stuart Field: slow down the high-flying offense of Edgewood College. The Scarlet Hawks were able to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard for the first 50 minutes of the match, including holding a 1-0 lead after a Hawks' goal 4:30 into the second half. But the Eagles would rebound, getting the equalizer goal just over a minute later, the first of four unanswered goals en route to a 4-1 Edgewood victory. 

The Scarlet Hawks suffered their first defeat of the season, falling to 4-1-1, and starting conference play 0-1-0. The Eagles improved to 5-1-1, and 1-0-0 in NACC play.

How It Happened

• The Scarlet Hawks and Eagles played to a scoreless first half. The Eagles had the better of play, however, outshooting the Hawks 8-2 in the opening frame, with two shots on goal. Mateo Sanchez had the lone Scarlet Hawk shot on goal in the first half, coming just under 30 minutes into the match. 
• Illinois Tech regrouped at halftime, and came out re-energized. The uptick in intensity from the home team resulted in the first goal of the match four and a half minutes into the second half. A failed clearing attempt by Edgewood was recovered by the Scarlet Hawks on the right sideline by Sanchez. Sanchez passed inside to Ben Mehl, who made a quick touch pass back up field to a charging Adrian Cogolludo. Cogolludo settled the ball and passed to his left to Paul Balea in the middle of the field. Balea took two strides to his left and fired a left-footer into the upper-left corner for a 1-0 Hawks lead.
• The early second half lead for the Scarlet Hawks would not last long, as the Eagles responded 1:26 later. On an Edgewood corner kick from the right corner, the Eagles' Connor Gage tapped the kick to a nearby Conor Bruce. Bruce passed back to Gage, who cut inside towards the back line and moved towards the goal before he chipped a pass to the far side of goal, where Jack Knight headed the ball down just underneath a diving Colin Thomas and into the lower left corner, tying the match at 1-1.
• With Edgewood's Joshua Kerr possessing the ball on the left sideline inside Illinois Tech territory, he lofted a pass into the box in between two Hawk defenders to an awaiting Miguel Conde Gwo. Gwo settled the ball down, battling with a Hawks defender for possession before knocking the ball lose on the left side in front of goal and tapping a right footer into the right corner at 31:01  for a 2-1 Eagles lead.
• The Eagles extended their lead at the 22:39 mark, when a Scarlet Hawks passing attempt up field was intercepted by Edgewood's Aldon Lumani just underneath the center circle. Lumani extended his right leg to stop the ball before falling down. Teammate Brandon Kaup picked up the loose ball in the circle and drove forward 10 yards before sending a through ball between two Hawk defenders to Gage left of goal. Gage started towards the inside but shifted to an outside run past his defender before slipping past Thomas into the right corner for a 3-1 Edgewood advantage.
• Edgewood completed the scoring in the match with 12:23 remaining. A cross into the box from the left side was deflected by a Hawks' defender onto goalkeeper Thomas, who was able to save the ball with his left foot before falling down. Gage was in the vicinity to pick up the loose ball and tucked it into the left corner for a 4-1 Eagles' lead.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Paul Balea with a goal on one shot in 76 minutes of playing time
• Nick Skiba with 2 shots, one on goal, in 13 minutes of play
• Mateo Sanchez with 1 shot, one on goal, in 57 minutes of play

Inside The Box Score

• Edgewood's Connor Gage with 2 goals on 5 shots, 4 on frame, along with 1 assist in 90 minutes played. Gage now has 10 goals on the season
• The Eagles outshot the Scarlet Hawks 17-5, and had 8 shots on goal vs 3 for Illinois Tech
• Illinois Tech was whistled for 18 fouls for the match; Edgewood had 8 fouls
• The Scarlet Hawks were assessed 4 yellow cards; the Eagles had 2 yellow cards

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will look to rebound and get back to winning ways when they travel north to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon for a 2:00pm tilt with Marian University in a NACC matchup. The Sabres tied with Wisconsin Lutheran on the road Wednesday night.