Freshman
Michelle Brumbaugh collected her first collegiate goal and assist as the Illinois State womens soccer team shutout Northern Iowa, 3-0, in the Valley-opener Monday afternoon.
The win boosts the Redbird record to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference while Northern Iowa slips to 2-4 and 0-1.
Brumbaugh found
Tiffany DeClark with five minutes left in the first half and DeClark punched it by Panther goalkeeper Anne Marie Witko for her second goal of the season.
The score remained 1-0 until 14 minutes into the second half when
Robyn Brady picked up her first career assist on a connection with forward Annie Wayland, who scored her third goal of the season.
Twenty minutes later, Brumbaugh and the Redbirds capped off their scoring as Brumbaugh picked up a feed from Mokena, Ill., native
Lindsey Soderborg as the Redbirds extended to a 3-0 lead.
"Michelle had a great goal that she worked very hard for," head coach
Pete Kowall said. "It was a great way to finish up a good week of training."
The Illinois State defense that allowed Northern Illinois only three shots in the first match of the season held the Panthers to the same number of opportunities. ISU out shot UNI 31-3 as junior goalkeeper
Lynley Hilligoss went the distance collecting two saves and her second shutout this year.
"Our defense did not give up many shots, and the shots that they did give up were not good ones," Kowall added. "I'm proud of the way the team handled everything in the past week, and I'm very happy with the way we played today."
Continuing on their road trip, the Birds face Loyola-Chicago Thursday afternoon at 6 p.m. at Loyola Soccer Park.
