Senior Annie Wayland and sophomore Robyn Brady scored one goal apiece to give the Illinois State womens soccer team the 2-0 victory over Northern Iowa, Friday, September 20, at Adelaide Street Field. This was the first Missouri Valley conference game for each team.
Wayland scored her second game of the season (52nd career goal) at the 28:50 mark to give the Redbirds a 1-0 lead at the half.
It feels good to get the second goal, said Wayland. But it is great to see a lot of people stepping up to get the score in the big wins so far this season. The team is pushing it to the next level and hopefully this will continue and take us to the tournament.
The Redbirds took 19 shots in the first half compared to only four shots by the Panthers. Head coach Pete Kowall was happy with the way his team created chances for scoring opportunities.
We created shots, but we were a little unlucky, said Kowall. One of goals has been to work for the quality goals. Some days you have it and some days you dont. Their goalkeeper (Anne-Marie Witko) made us get the quality shots off.
The Redbirds continued their attack on the goal with 17 shots in the second half, and Bradys goal came at the 88:56 mark. The Redbirds defense held the Panthers to only three shots in the second half. Redbird goalkeeper Allison Farrington recorded her second shut-out of the 2002 season and was helped in the backfield by Melissa Colthrust, Heather Forsyth, Lindsey Soderborg and Sheila Bryant.
I credit our defense with holding the Panthers scoreless, said Kowall. In the second half, I give credit to Northern Iowa. They came in here thinking they could win, and the game could have gone either way.
The Redbirds remain undefeated at 5-0, and are 1-0 in conference play. The Redbirds continue their home stretch at Adelaide Street Field on Sunday, September 22, against Xavier at 12 p.m.
