MONMOUTH, IL – Millikin men's soccer took a break from CCIW play on Wednesday afternoon as the Big Blue traveled to Monmouth College. Millikin scored six goals against the Fighting Scots, earning their eighth win of the year and sixth straight against Monmouth. With the win, Millikin improves to 8-7-1 (3-4-0 CCIW), while the Fighting Scots slide to 0-15 (0-7 MWC).
After a penalty on the Big Blue negated what would have been the first goal of the contest, sophomore
Matthew Hart drove in his fourth goal on the campaign, giving Millikin an early 1-0 advantage at the 14:36 mark. In the 37th minute, freshman
Aquiles Yibirin passed to sophomore
Kyle Grasse who connected with fellow sophomore
Mikkel Opdahl on a cross for the Big Blue's second goal of the match. The goal was Opdahl's third of the year.
One minute later, a shot by Opdahl deflected off the Fighting Scots goalkeeper's hands and towards the goal. A Monmouth defender attempted to clear the ball but inadvertently knocked it into the net, extending Millikin's lead to three. The Big Blue carried that advantage into halftime.
Sixteen seconds into the second half, Monmouth found the back of the net, cutting the Big Blue's lead to two. In the 69th minute, senior
Bryce Davis converted a penalty kick for his team-leading eighth goal of the season, putting the Big Blue ahead 4-1.
One minute later, freshman
Arthur Medina found Davis in space, who fired it into the lower left part of the goal for his second goal of the day, increasing Millikin's lead to four. With less than five minutes remaining, Grasse launched a corner kick towards the net, where Hart knocked it home for his second goal of the match.
Men's soccer returns to Frank M. Lindsay field on Saturday, Oct. 25 as the Big Blue face the North Park Vikings in their final CCIW match of the regular season. The match is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.
