Peoria City 1-1 St. Croix SC
Photo Essay: 2022 USL League Two (USL2) Men’s Soccer at Shea Stadium, Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is a USL2 expansion team that has been more than two years in the making, with the franchise announced back in 2020. However, COVID was blamed as the start was pushed back to the 2021 season, then 2022. They made a strong start though once they got going, scoring two victories, two draws, and one loss (to perennial USL2 powerhouse Des Moines Menace) in their first four games in the Deep North division.
Likewise, St. Croix are a Minnesota team (not Canadian as I had assumed) that was announced as a USL2 side in October of 2021, though unlike Peoria City, St. Croix were established back in 1984.
Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois: home of Peoria City and Bradley University.
Two captains in one photo: Marco Valero Perez for Peoria (in black), and Victor Gaulmin for St. Croix (in white).
Peoria were hoping to keep the pressure on Des Moines at the top of the Deep North division by winning at home, but St. Croix did not make it easy for them, fighting for every ball.
Nils Buchwalder for Peoria. A native of Bochum in Germany, Buchwalder won the Westfalenpokal (the Westphalia Regional Cup) with RSV Meinerzhagen in 2020 before joining the University of New Hampshire men’s team as a graduate student in 2021. He had a very solid game at center-back, and his calm demeanor seemed well-matched to the position.
“The 309,” a local musical group that kept the crowd entertained.
Jordi Ramon Calabuig of Peoria chases down a loose ball.
Peoria’s hopes for three points were dashed by St. Croix in the 31st minute after Nicholas Zuchkowski cut inside from the left to make it 0-1 to the visitors.
Peoria goalkeeper Oluwarimidalare “Rimi” Olatunji reacts after St. Croix’s goal.
Buchwalder (right) challenges St. Croix’s Telvin Vah.
Peoria’s Gevork Diarbian takes one of his six shots at St. Croix’s goal under pressure from a St. Croix defender.
Peoria’s Timothy Ennin (center), who also recorded six shots at goal in this game, watches another go harmlessly by the St. Croix goal.
Buchwalder (right) executes a perfect sliding tackle against Vah (left) in an attempt to recycle the ball for another attack.
Ennin (left) chases down another loose ball.
Six minutes into additional time in the second half, Marco Valero Perez lines up a free kick in St. Croix’s half in what is sure to be the last action of the game.
In a shocking finish to the game, Peoria’s goalkeeper Rimi Olatunji collects the ball after it has rebounded from Valero Perez’s free kick and slots it into the corner of the net to give Peoria a well-deserved point.
Olatunji’s goal was featured on ESPN’s Futbol Americas show’s “Top 10 Goals from the Weekend” at #9. See: https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/d0dbd7b5-4202-461e-984e-87e42929edf9 at 01:05:18.
For more photos from this game, visit shbp.us.
-ShOT