East Peoria, Ill. - The games only get chillier as we head down the home stretch of the ICC men's soccer season. On tap for Tuesday was a battle between the Cougars (7-7-0) and the Truman Falcons (5-2-2). There was a stark contrast from the feeling of Sunday's game, with the Cougars holding a noticeable advantage in possession for most of the 90 minutes, outside of a few touches here and there. ICC would take a 2-0 lead into halftime, before doubling that (and some) to come away with a 5-0 victory. 

FIRST HALF RECAP
It wasn't just the possession in general. Coach Gabe Carreno's group seemed to have a heightened sense of aggression on the defensive side, effectively canceling out any lost possessions. It didn't take long for an ICC player to hit the box score, when Ali Akram had a 1-on-1 shot at the keeper just 55 seconds in that was saved. 

The Cougars got on the board fairly early, when Joao Campos, who would go on to have an ever better game, would tally his first goal of the night, beating the keeper 1-on-1 for a 1-0 lead at 31:17. About 13 minutes later, Campos found the net again, this time on a cross from the right to left side of the net, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead at 18:22. 

Carlos Lobo nearly got in on the scoring as well, when he had a cross that was narrowly saved by the Falcons, setting the 2-0 score after 45 minutes. 

SECOND HALF RECAP
This go-around, it didn't exactly take 55 seconds for stats to accumulate, but it was just as quality a half of soccer. At the 37:30 mark, Brandon Castro had a soft header towards the left side of the goal saved.

Then just two minutes after that, Campos assisted, finding Yahir Meza (who had two goals on Sunday) for a tap to the left side of the keeper and a goal, giving ICC a 3-0 lead at 35:31. 

Perhaps the Falcons' best chance came at 32:22, when they had a free kick bend towards the goal, but Tomas Fontes was able to save it and maintain the shutout. 

Jonah Bijvank just about scored at 10:56, getting his boot past the keeper, but not a defender that slid in at the last moment, stopping that particular shot. Alas, redemption. Roughly four minutes after that touch, Bijvank found the goal, beating the keeper 1-on-1 for a 4-0 lead with 6:06 left. 

With a win well in hand, the ICC attack wasn't done just yet. Bijvank would put the cherry on top of his day when Campos assisted him for a goal past the keeper and setting the aforementioned 5-0 final score with 3:39 remaining. 

Tuesday's 5-0 shutout win is the most goals scored at home by ICC since a 6-1 winner last October against Central Methodist, and is the most goals scored in a shutout win since defeating Illinois Wesleyan 5-0 in September 2022. 

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Malcolm X Hawks (0-6-0)
Saturday, October 14th - 1:00 PM
@ CougarPlex - East Peoria, Ill.