In todays surprise home opener for Illinois State, senior Diana Puckett scored the lone goal to give the Redbirds a 1-0 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
Despite learning just this morning that todays game would be their home opener, the Birds came to play and passed the test with flying colors. The match was originally scheduled for yesterday at Charleston but was cancelled due to inclement weather.
We definitely had some missed opportunities on offense and we need to shore some things up in the back, head coach Pete Kowall said. Our kids played hard and it was a physical game but we still have some work to do before Sunday.
Illinois States stifling defense only allowed 4 shots in the game while the Redbird offense attempted 21 shots. Of the 19 Redbirds that played in todays game, only six of them didnt take a shot.
The game remained deadlocked until Puckett scored in the 66th minute of play to put the Redbirds on top to stay. Puckett ranks third in the Redbird record book with 15 career goals.
I think we played pretty well today, but we didnt play well enough to beat the kind of competition we are going to face later on this year, Puckett said of the victory.
Illinois States freshmen once again showed why they were the rated the 75th best recruiting class in the nation. Freshman goalkeeper Andrea Shaw and forward Jaclyn Rucinsky earned the first starts of their respective collegiate careers. Shaw recorded two saves in her first collegiate shutout.
Next up for Illinois State is a road trip to Milwaukee for match-up with the UW-Milwaukee Panthers at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 7.
