Oct. 16, 2005
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's soccer team did not look back after answering Evansville's opening goal, as the Redbirds defeated the Purple Aces 5-1, Sunday at Adelaide Street Field in the `Birds final home game of the 2005 season. Five goals are the most ever scored by Illinois State while playing Evansville and the `Bird's three second half goals are the most Evansville has allowed in the second period all season.
Illinois State improves to 6-5-3 on the year, 2-1-1 in the Valley, while Evansville has not yet picked up an MVC win, falling to 0-4 in conference play, 8-6-0 overall.
Evansville was the first to strike at the 11:56 mark. Taking an early 1-0 lead, UE sophomore Heidi Grey booted the ball past Illinois State keeper Andrea Shaw. The shot was taken from five yards out, on an assist from midfielder Julie Winkler. This early goal was Grey's eighth on the year.
Illinois State quickly answered the Ace's goal as sophomore Bethany Russ came off the Redbird bench, having an immediate scoring impact for the `Birds. Taking a shot off a Meghan Boler corner kick, Russ found the back of the net in the 27th minute, tying the game at one all. This first period goal was the third of the season for Russ.
With the first period clock running down, Yvonne Northover scored for the second consecutive game. Northover took a shot with just 15 seconds left in the first half from eight yards out, putting the ball past Evansville's goalkeeper Whitney Raeon. Illinois State freshman Mel Routledge was credited with the assist on Northover's goal. This was also the third goal of the season for Northover, the second of the weekend as she scored the lone goal in Friday's tie with Missouri State.
Redbird head coach Pete Kowall was impressed with Northover's goal to put the `Birds up at half.
"Yvonne is starting to understand how to get herself into spots to score," Kowall said. "She works so hard for our team that I'm glad she got that goal for us. It was such a beautiful goal, also."
The stingy Illinois State defense held Evansville to just three first half shots, while the Redbirds tabbed nine in the first 45 minutes. The `Birds also led in corner kicks in the first period, recording four kicks from the corner to the Ace's two.
The scoring continued for the `Birds in the second half, as the team notched three second half goals. Senior Heather Forsyth was the first Redbird to score in the second period, as she stole the ball in the 53rd minute from an Evansville defender and put it past Raeon from 15 yards out, making the score 3-1 in favor of Illinois State.
Just nine minutes later (62:56), sophomore Carrie Schurr recorded her second goal of the season. Schurr found the back of the net, taking a shot from 10 yards out at the center of the goal. Schurr's goal was assisted by freshman Mel Routledge.
The scoring did not stop there as freshman Rachel Lee netted the fifth and final goal for the `Birds at the 71:17 mark. Lee, on a pass from Amanda Lauber, took a shot from the left side of the goal, eight yards out, and put the ball past Evansville's Raeon for the Redbirds fifth score of the afternoon.
Kowall was pleased with the way his team finished their scoring opportunities.
"I thought it was a great game in terms of finishing for us," said Kowall. "It was certainly good for us to finish that many shots for goals. We started with a flurry...we've got to find a way to finish a ball in that first 10 to 15 minutes where we are all over the opponent. We came back from a deficit so that was also good for us. It was a great team effort today."
Illinois State goalkeeper Andrea Shaw recorded the win for the `Birds, as she tallied five saves on the afternoon on just eight Evansville shots.
The Redbirds booted 19 shots Sunday afternoon, while also leading in corner kicks 6-3.
Kowall hopes that this win will propel the `Birds to victory in the remaining Valley matches.
"This is a great win going into a big weekend for us," Kowall continued. "Indiana State and Northern Iowa on the road will both be tough games. We're in fourth place and we need to stay there or try and work our way up in the rankings. If we want to climb any higher, we need to keep winning and playing with the same intensity."
Illinois State will wrap up the Missouri Valley Conference season with two games on the road next weekend. The `Birds travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for a 3:00 p.m. match with Indiana State on Friday, October 21. ISU's final MVC game will come on Sunday, October 23 at Northern Iowa. The Redbirds will play the Panthers at 1:00 p.m. in Cedar Falls.
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