The Illinois State womens soccer team opens the regular season Friday at 7 p.m at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
The Redbirds merited a 1-1-1 record in preseason games this season. Most recently, Illinois State faced the NSA Lazers, an under-18 club team from Naperville, Ill., and came out on top, 12-1.
Were looking forward to the game because it is our first regular season contest, head coach Pete Kowall said. We dont know a lot about them but well get down to the nitty gritty of how they play.
Illinois State started last season with a 2-1 overtime win against Eastern Illinois. They went on to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season as well as the conference tournament. The Redbirds, who were 12-5-2 in 2002, were voted No. 2 in the 2003 preseason Valley coaches poll behind defending champion Creighton.
I think the exhibition games helped us a lot and we learned how to play together better, senior Katie Long said. We do have nine new freshmen and thats hard but I feel really comfortable going into this game. We know what we have to do.
This is also the season opener for UW-Green Bay, which was 4-11-2 in 2002 and finished sixth in the Horizon League. This year, the Phoenix return nine starters and 17 letterwinners. In preseason match-ups, UW-Green Bay was 2-0. It defeated Minnesota 2-0 and UW-Stevens Point 7-0.
We want to keep improving and get rid of the injuries that are still affecting how we coach and how we play, Kowall said.
This game will be the first true test for the nine freshmen in the 2003 recruiting class, which was ranked 75th nationally by Soccer Buzz Magazine.
Were all pretty excited and I think were ready, freshman Crystal Lanski said of her freshmen teammates. Weve really been coming together as a team. I dont really know what to expect since its my first year but I feel ready.
The last time Illinois State faced the Phoenix was Sept. 15, 2002 at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds won 3-1.
The Birds return 16 letterwinners this year to go along with nine freshmen. Letterwinners of note include All-Valley honorable mention goalkeeper Allison Farrington, All-Valley second team midfielder Robyn Brady, All-Valley first team defender Tiffany DeClark, All-Valley honorable mention defender Heather Forsyth and All-Valley freshman team defender Joyce Kleinheinz. The team captains are Farrington and senior midfielder Chrystal Johnston.
