Two goals in the opening 10 minutes and another around the half-hour mark pushed Lake Forest women's soccer to a win over Illinois College.
It didn't take long for the Foresters to find the back of the net. Four minutes into the game,
Lola Halsband drove down the right wing before firing a cross into
Keighan Whitlock, who found the bottom corner for a 1-0 lead. Three minutes later,
Maggie Balas sent a curling effort from the edge of the box that nestled into the top right corner after a slight touch by the Illinois College goalkeeper.
With a two-goal lead in the first seven minutes, Lake Forest continued to fire shots from distance, and the persistence paid off in the 33rd minute as
Veronica Presberg scored a goal from long-range to give the Foresters a 3-0 lead. Lake Forest outshot the Lady Blues 11-0 in the first half, and led by three at the break.
The second half proved a different story, as Illinois College put together a few offensive chances. In the 66th minute, Lake Forest goalkeeper
Sara Swenson made a flying save to her left to keep the Foresters ahead by three. However, on the following corner kick, the Lady Blues pounced on a loose ball in the box and scored to swing momentum back in favor of the visitors.
Shortly after the goal, Swenson made another save, collecting a ball in the middle of the frame. The Foresters regained control in the final 20 minutes of the match, firing five shots at goal, but could not convert as the match ended 3-1 in favor of Lake Forest.
Next up for the Foresters is an away trip to new Midwest Conference team Luther on Oct. 3. Lake Forest returns home to host Monmouth on Oct. 7 at Mohr Field.
