Richey, Soul notch first-ever shutout

The Chicago Soul earned the first shutout in franchise history, defeating the Syracuse Silver Knights 11-0 on Friday night at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates.

Goalie Jeff Richey recorded 45 saves to carry the Soul to victory.

“It was a great game, and definitely special for me,” said Richey. “I felt like I was in the zone. I was in good position the whole time, stood up strong and didn’t back down to any shots.

“It felt really good. But you don’t get a shutout in this league without your teammates helping and making defensive plays and blocks. It’s a group effort when you have a shutout in indoor soccer.”

The Soul got things going on a goal by Bato Radoncic in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Eric Lukin followed with a goal on a pass from Carlos Farias to make it an early 4-0 lead. Both teams remained scoreless in the second quarter as Richey made a flurry of saves to hold off Syracuse.

Matthew Stewart scored the lone goal of the third quarter on a power-play advantage to extend the Soul’s lead to 6-0. Carlos Muñoz made it an 8-point Soul edge at the 10:36 mark in the fourth, and Farias put the game away on a 3-pointer in the final minutes.