Head coach Pete Kowall and the Illinois State womens soccer team recorded their fourth loss of the season to the Wisconsin Badgers, 3-0, at McClimon Track and Soccer Complex, in Madison, Wisc., on Friday.
The Badgers outshot the Redbirds 31-5. Despite Wisconsins 16 shots in the first half, Redbird goalkeeper Allison Farrington made four saves and prevented any shots from reaching the back of the net. Illinois State appeared to have a slow start with only one shot in the first half.
Wisconsins first goal got past Farrington early in the second half at the 45:48 mark, scored by Molly Meuer off a combined assist. The Redbirds shot the ball four times in the second half, two on goal, but none went past Wisconsin goalkeeper Kelly Conway.
Illinois States Cheryl Sarnwick replaced Farrington in the net with 16:55 left to play. Farrington left the game with eight saves. Although Sarnwick made two saves, Wisconsin found the back of the net two more times with under 10 minutes left in the game to give the Badgers the 3-0 win.
After the first Badger goal, the Redbirds made a switch on the field to open more scoring opportunities.
After we were down 1-0 we moved some forwards up to try to push the ball up the field and play three in the back, said Kowall. Wisconsin got a couple of breakaways and scored the other two goals on us that way.
The Redbirds finish the regular season with an overall record of 11-4-2. Illinois State begins Missouri Valley Conference Tournament action on Friday, Nov. 8, in St. Louis, Mo. The No. 2 seeded Redbirds will face the No. 3 seeded Evansville Purple Aces in the semi-final match-up slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Sportport.
