Rockford, Ill. — Illinois Tech men's soccer needed a road win at Rockford University on Wednesday afternoon, and they would clinch the number four seed in the conference post-season tournament and a first-round home match. Mission accomplished for the Scarlet Hawks, as they defeated the Regents 3-0. The Scarlet Hawks finished with a 24-6 shot advantage, including an 8-1 edge in shots on goal, while recording the shutout.
Illinois Tech finishes the regular season 10-5-2 overall, and 7-3-2 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. The Hawks will host number five seed Benedictine University Sunday at noon at Stuart Field. Rockford finishes their 2026 season 4-9-5 overall, and 1-7-4 in NACC play.
How It Happened
The Scarlet Hawks opened with early pressure, getting shots from
Theo Balea and
Junior Pineda-Alcala before Pineda-Alcala hit the top woodwork at 5:15 and
Cal Graham scored at 5:21 for a 1-0 lead. The Scarlet Hawks kept the attack moving with corner kicks at 6:42 and 11:18, a saved Graham shot, two
Tomas Rebelatto attempts and back-to-back corners at 20:37 and 21:14 before Pineda-Alcala scored at 22:32 to extend the lead to 2-0. Rockford University generated a Lane Mendoza shot and a corner shortly after the second goal, but Illinois Tech added later chances through
Nick Skiba and
Paul Balea, including a Skiba shot saved by Isaiah Batres, and carried the 2-0 advantage to halftime.
Rebelatto helped the Scarlet Hawks open the second half with pressure, putting a shot over the bar at 47:32 and hitting the left woodwork at 49:42 before Pineda-Alcala added another attempt at 50:07. Illinois Tech kept the sequence going with two more Rebelatto shots in the 54th minute, and
Paul Balea scored at 53:59 off
Logan Olree's assist to make it 3-0. After Rockford University generated a corner and a Lane Mendoza shot near the hour mark, Illinois Tech answered with
Brennan Paradiso's saved shot, three straight corner kicks from 63:12 to 64:12 and additional attempts from Rebelatto. Rockford University had three shots in the final 10 minutes, including an Ian Jurgensen effort saved by
Colin Thomas at 84:34, but the Scarlet Hawks held the score there to finish the 3-0 win.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Cal Graham
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- one goal
- game-winning goal
- three shots, all on goal
Junior Pineda-Alcala
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- one goal
- four shots
Paul Balea
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- one goal
- two shots
Tomas Rebelatto
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- eight shots
- one shot on goal
Logan Olree
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- one assist
Rockford University Top Performers
Isaiah Batres
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- 3 saves
- 45:00 in goal
Wesley Pritzlaff
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- 2 saves
- 45:00 in goal
Ian Jurgensen
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- 2 shots, 1 on goal
Lane Mendoza
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- 2 shots
Game Notes
- The Scarlet Hawks improved to 9-0-1 lifetime against Rockford.
- Scarlet Hawks - Totaled 24 shots in the match, exceeding their season average of 14.31.
- Scarlet Hawks - Achieved at least 3 goals in 2 consecutive games.
- Scarlet Hawks - Recorded at least 8 shots on goal in 2 consecutive games.
-
Logan Olree - Reached the 10 points milestone for the season with a total of 10 points.
-
Paul Balea - Reached a career milestone by scoring their 10th goal.
- Rebelatto - Recorded a season-high of 8 shots.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will host Benedictine University on Sunday, November 1st at Stuart Field, in the quarterfinal round of the NACC Men's Soccer postseason tournament.
