Chargers beat Illinois Valley 3-0, can clinch conference title Friday at home

GALESBURG — Make it a (nearly) perfect 10 for the Sandburg men's soccer team.

The Chargers ran their unbeaten streak to 10 games with a 3-0 victory over Illinois Valley on Tuesday at Kleine Field. Sandburg (10-2-3 overall, 2-0 Arrowhead Conference) has gone 7-0-3 during its unblemished stretch.

Tuesday's win also put the Chargers in position to clinch the Arrowhead Conference title with a victory Friday against Kishwaukee. That contest kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday at Kleine Field.

Sandburg put together a multitude of scoring chances in Tuesday's triumph over the Eagles, but the Chargers didn't pull away for good until the closing minutes.

Luis Garcia's goal in the eighth minute gave Sandburg an early 1-0 lead. After taking a pass from Connor McLauchlan, Garcia worked into the middle and fired a shot inside the right post for his team-leading 11th goal of the year.

Sandburg had numerous near misses after that and held its one-goal lead into the latter part of the contest. Illinois Valley nearly got the equalizer in the 80th minute, but Jakob Stumm's hard shot caromed off the crossbar.

The Chargers finally capitalized on two late opportunities. In the 86th minute, Mateo Figueroa fed Enrico Augusto Rola in the middle, and Rola put it away for a key insurance tally.

Figueroa added a second assist in the 89th minute when his hard shot in the box was turned aside, but Teigan Conboy put away the rebound to account for the final score.

Sandburg peppered the IVCC net throughout the contest, racking up 15 shots on goal.

Sergi Cruz made three saves to keep a clean sheet for the Chargers.

UP NEXT
4 p.m. Friday vs. Kishwaukee 

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