Junior Diana Puckett, a forward on the Illinois State womens soccer team, scored the lone goal in the Redbirds 1-0 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores, Sunday, October 20 at Indiana State Soccer Complex.
Puckett, a native of Park Ridge, Ill., scored her fourth goal of the season and fourteenth career goal, at the 15:39 mark off a combined assist from Katie Long and Lindsey Soderborg.
Senior goalkeeper Allison Farrington and the stingy Redbird defense recorded their eighth shutout of the season.
The Redbirds have fought a plague of injuries all year long but have managed to improve their Valley record to 5-1-1 and overall record to 11-2-1 with this weekends wins over Evansville and Indiana State. Head coach Pete Kowall is proud of the teams never-ending effort.
I feel great about the win today, said Kowall. We played well enough, and our defense did another great job.
To be 5-1-1 and currently sitting in second after all weve been through this year is just great, added Kowall. Im just really proud of the girls.
Illinois State has completed Valley play for the 2002 season, but is anxiously waiting for other Valley teams to finish out league play.
Other Valley action from Sunday, included a double-overtime 0-0 tie between Creighton and Southwest Missouri State. Creighton remains in first place with a Valley record of 5-0-1. However, the Redbirds still have a chance at a share of first place if Creighton loses to Drake in their final Valley game in Omaha, Neb., on October 25.
The Redbirds return to action on Friday, October 25, as they take on Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., at Varsity Field. On October 27, Illinois State will host Illinois at Adelaide Street Field for their final home game of the season at 12:00 p.m.
