Sept. 21, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
After playing two road games last week, the Illinois State women's soccer team returns to familiar territory, Thursday, hosting Loyola in a 4 p.m. showdown at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds will then hit the road again, heading north to take on Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at Englemann Field.
Being on the road at Illinois and Northern Illinois was not as successful as the `Birds initially hoped. Illinois State fell to Illinois on Friday, 3-0, in Champaign. The Redbirds then managed a 1-1 double-overtime draw in Dekalb, Ill., on Sunday, with Northern Illinois. Heather Forsyth scored the lone goal for the Redbirds last weekend.
Loyola is coming off a 2-0 loss to No. 20 Marquette on Tuesday. The Ramblers are now 2-4 on the year. Illinois State dominates the series with Loyola, 6-1-0, with their only loss coming in 2003.
Illinois State head coach Pete Kowall is confident that Loyola will provide good competition, despite their record.
"Loyola is a good team although they have had some tough results," said Kowall. "They will still be a well-coached team and will be organized and well run. It will be good for Illinois State to play back at home vs. Loyola. I think that will add some confidence."
Wisconsin-Milwaukee also has a deceiving record at 2-4-2, tallying wins over Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake and Central Florida. UW-Milwaukee has taken on three ranked opponents, No. 13 Illinois, No. 12 Florida and No. 15 Wisconsin. Most recently, the Panthers recorded a 4-0 loss at Wisconsin, which is now ranked No. 16.
UW-Milwaukee leads the series with Illinois State, 2-4-2, meeting them each season except 2002.
Kowall is also looking forward to the meeting in Milwaukee.
"Wisconsin-Milwaukee will be a very big game for us," said Kowall. "They are probably one of the better teams we will see this year, even though their record isn't very good. Their competition level is very high. The team and I are excited and looking forward to this weekend."
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