Men’s soccer claims first win of 2026 at Blackburn

Carlinville, IL – Millikin University men's soccer secured its first win of 2026 on Thursday afternoon, defeating Blackburn College 2-0 at Blackburn Stadium. With the victory, the Big Blue move to 1-3, while the Battlin' Beavers fall to 1-3.

The story of the first half was all defense; the Big Blue fired off seven shots throughout the first half. Of those seven shots, five were on goal and saved by Blackburn goalkeeper Brayden Keys. Goalkeeper Joshua Garrett was up to the challenge for Millikin, saving all three shots he faced from the Battlin' Beavers during the first half. The Big Blue went into halftime in a 0-0 contest.

The first 15 minutes of the second half proved to be the same as the first half. Bryce Davis came close to scoring the first goal of the game in the 62nd minute but missed just off the top right of the goal. In the 72nd minute, a shot from Davis bounced off the hands of Keys and right into the waiting foot of Blake Helvey, who shot the ball past the goalkeeper and put the Big Blue in the lead.

Five minutes later, Millikin added another goal after a header by Robert Sambou was blocked by a Battlin' Beavers defender, leaving room for Olav Kaldahl to knock it in amid chaos. The Big Blue held off Blackburn College through the remaining 14 minutes to lock in their first win of the season.

"The last few games have been leading to this moment, and to keep a clean sheet is a nice bonus," said Head Coach Charlie Ward. "Blackburn put up a tough fight, but now we need to focus on taking this momentum into Saturday and putting some wins together."

Men's soccer will return to Decatur for its home debut Saturday, September 12 at 6 p.m. against Rose-Hulman (2-1-1). The match will be streamed live on the CCIW Network.