ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T picked up a key victory Friday in its quest to grab one of the final Great Lakes Valley Conference playoff spots, coming from behind for a
2-1 win over Illinois Springfield at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
The Miners scored late in the first half to tie the game, then got the game-winner from
Eduardo Abichabki (Sao Jose do Rio Pardo, Brazil/Colegio Unigrau) with 12:58 remaining in the contest as they improved to 5-6-2 overall and 4-5-2 in the GLVC.
S&T got a corner kick opportunity after a Prairie Star clearing attempt went over the end line.
Ryan Lawhead (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) sent the ball across the box to Abichabki on the opposite side and he ripped a shot by Kyle Hamilton to put the Miners in front.
After S&T grabbed the lead, UIS was only able to get one shot over the final 12-plus minutes despite having the ball on the Miners' end of the field for a good portion of the final minutes. That shot, taken by Khalid Dhalla, was taken from the edge of the box and stopped by Miner goalkeeper
James Holloway (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame Regional).
Dhalla gave the Prairie Stars the lead when he converted a penalty kick at the 16:52 mark, as UIS was awarded the chance after the Miners committed a foul just inside the box.
The Miners outshot UIS 10-4 in the first half, but it wasn't until that tenth shot that S&T was able to get on the scoreboard. Abichabki took a shot from about 15 yards away that was blocked by the defense in front, but
Alex Reifschneider (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) pounced on the rebound and hit it into the back of the net to knot the score with 1:23 to go in the opening half.
S&T finished the contest with an 18-11 advantage in shots with each team putting six shots on net. Holloway finished with five saves in goal.
Illinois Springfield dropped to 4-9 overall and 2-9 in the GLVC with Friday's loss.
With the win, the Miners moved into a tie for eighth place in the conference standings with the next opponent on their schedule, Southern Indiana. S&T will host the Screaming Eagles Sunday in a 2:30 p.m. game at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
