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NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State soccer team (12-5-2, 5-0-1 MVC) opens Missouri Valley Conference Tournament play Friday night at Adelaide Street Field against Indiana State at 6 p.m. Evansville and Loyola will face off prior to the Redbirds' match, at 3:30 p.m.
The Redbirds are the tourney's No. 1 seed, followed by Evansville (No. 2), Indiana State (No. 4), and Loyola (No. 6). Indiana State advanced to the semifinals after a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Drake in penalty kicks on Sunday. Loyola advanced in a 2-1 win over No. 3 Northern Iowa, also on Sunday.
Fans can follow along to Friday's match via The Valley on ESPN3, live stats, and Twitter updates.
Last Time Out
ISU defeated Northern Iowa 2-0 with back-to-back goals in the last 10 minutes of action Oct. 27 at Adelaide Street Field in the Redbirds' regular-season finale.
Despite outshooting UNI 12-3 in the first half, both teams went into halftime scoreless. The second half started much like the first until the last 10 minutes of the match. Senior Brianne Richards and junior Kelli Zickert pulled off back-to-back goals in the 79th and 80th minutes to secure the win for ISU. Zickert assisted Richards while senior Lauren Koehl tabbed the assist for Zickert's goal.
Indiana State
2016 Season: 7-10-1 (2-3-1 MVC)
When: Friday, November 4 – 6 p.m.
Where:Â Normal, Ill. (Adelaide Street Field)
Series History:Â ISU leads 19-3
Last Meeting:Â Sept. 23, 2016, Illinois State 4, Indiana State 0, in Normal.
What You Need to Know:Â The Sycamores are coming off a win last week against Drake. Indiana State advanced to the semifinals tomorrow after defeating the Bulldogs, 3-2, in penalty kicks. The Sycamores are 1-4 against the Redbirds and 6-10-1 overall in MVC tournament play.
The last time ISU faced Indiana State, the Redbirds came out with the win at home, 4-0, just over a month ago. After a slow start, the Redbirds went back-to-back-to-back with three unanswered goals in the first half.
In the 17th minute, Zickert capitalized on a free kick, putting the Redbirds up early 1-0. In the 33rd minute, freshman Mikayla Unger got past a defender to slide the ball in the bottom right corner of the net making the score 2-0. Continuing the momentum, junior Emily Dickman was able to get it past the keeper with a touch to the far post in the 35th minute, extending the Redbirds' lead to 3-0. ISU continued the streak in the second half, opening with a goal by Koehl in the 64th minute, securing the Redbirds' lead 4-0. The Redbirds finished strong with a total of 20 shots and nine corner kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Haley Smith had a season-high nine saves between the pipes.
Up Next
The championship match will be this Sunday at 1 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field with a trophy ceremony immediately following the game.
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