Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College men's soccer team secured the Midwest Conference championship with a decisive 5-1 win against Beloit at Strong Stadium Complex on Saturday. This victory allows Illinois College to host the annual Midwest Conference Championship for the first time in its history, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at England Stadium.

Illinois College improved their overall record to 10-4-3 and 5-1-2 in league play. The match began with an early goal by Tyler Lunning, assisted by Thomas Menke, just 3 minutes and 36 seconds into the game. Before halftime, Josh Platzbecker extended the lead with another goal from an assist by Thomas Menke.

Beloit managed to score shortly after the second half began but was unable to maintain momentum. The Blueboys responded strongly with three more goals. Albert Nimako scored first off a pass from Eric Espinoza, who then scored his own goal five seconds later with help from Tyler Schiltz. Nimako concluded the scoring spree with his second goal of the day at 53:59.

Beloit's record fell to 3-10-2 overall and 3-3-2 in conference play following this defeat. Details regarding pairings for the upcoming Midwest Conference Championships will be announced later this weekend.