PEKIN, Ill. – Two penalty kicks were the difference as the Monmouth-Roseville boys soccer team brought home the first-place trophy from the Pekin Invitational Saturday afternoon at Coal Miner’s Park.
Playing the host school in their third and final match of the round-robin event, the Titans trailed 2-1 in the final 10 minutes. M-R needed at least a tie in the match to be crowned champions, and Valente Corral brought M-R back to even with his PK goal with 5:58 remaining.
But Pekin would have one more golden opportunity, as the Dragons were awarded a PK of their own with less than four minutes to play. But Titans’ freshman goalkeeper Isaac Garcia dove to his right and made the save, preserving the 2-2 tie, which was the final score of the game.
Aidan Sandoval twice put the hosts ahead by one with goals in each half. Ozzie Carmona had M-R’s first equalizer, scoring with 30 minutes left in the game.
Earlier in the tournament, M-R posted a pair of shutout victories, beating Illini Bluffs 6-0 and blanking Illinois Valley Central 4-0.
Tony Aguilar-Perez scored two goals and had an assist in the Friday night win against the Tigers. Other goals were scored by Carmona, Corral, Bawi Thang and Zemi Ismaili. Rafa Francisco had two assists and Jameson Riley added his first assist of the season.
Against IVC, Carmona opened the scoring and Roberto Rico gave the Titans a 2-0 halftime lead. Ismaili and Aguilar-Perez added second-half goals.
Now 4-0-1 on the season, the Titans will travel to Peoria Monday to play Central.
***Story and photo courtesy of Barry McNamara***
