Annie Wayland and Tiffany DeClark scored two goals each as the Illinois State soccer team finished the regular season with a Valley win over Indiana State, 6-0, Friday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field.
The Redbirds hold a 13-3 record and complete the conference season at 6-1. Indiana State, in its inaugural season of womens soccer, fall to 3-15 and 1-5 in league action. Depending on the result of the Evansville-Belmont match tonight, final regular-season conference standings cannot be determined.
Currently, Illinois State ranks second and Evansville first in league standings. If the Purple Aces lose to Belmont, the Redbirds win the crown outright while if the Purple Aces win, they claim the title. A tie between Evansville and Belmont would result in a regular-season tie between the Purple Aces and Redbirds, which has been the result the past two consecutive seasons.
A guaranteed MVC play-in match is scheduled for Sunday, part of the 2000 Valley Conference Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 3-5 in St. Louis, MO. The Redbirds win today, according to head coach Pete Kowall, got the Birds in the playoff mode.
It is playoff time now and this team knows that, Kowall said. There are seven seniors on this team that want to finish on a high note and keep winning. They dont want the season to end anytime soon, so Sunday will be an interesting match that we will come prepared to play.
Wayland scored her seventeenth goal of the year at the 13:25 mark of todays game after gaining control of the ball at the top of the goal box and shooting a one-time shot past Sycamore goalie Niclole Niman. Approximately 10 minutes later, Wayland, off a pass from DeClark, took the same shot and connected a second time as the Redbirds led 2-0.
At the 30:26 mark, Valley Offensive Player of the Week DeClark scored her first goal of the game, sixth of the season, off two consecutive passes from Lindsay Freed and Katie Long and two minutes later, Long scored to give the Birds a 4-0 lead at the half.
DeClark scored again in the second with 15 minutes remaining while Cristina Gutierrez finished out the Redbird scoring when she connected on a pass from Kim Anderson, who got her second assist of the year.
ISU outshot Indiana State 33-5 while ISU goalie Cheryl Sarnwick made two saves on the day. Niman notched four saves for the Sycamores in the first half while Jenelle Robinson, who played in goal in the second, recorded six.
The Redbirds will play Sunday at noon at Adalaide Street Field in the first-round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Their opponent is undetermined at this time.
