NORMAL, Ill. - Taking to the road for its final road trip of the 2006 regular season, the Illinois State women's soccer team makes stops at Drake on Thursday and Creighton on Saturday for a pair of MVC contests, as the `Birds continue to search for their first league victory.
Redbird head coach Pete Kowall leads his team into the weekend realizing the strength of the opponents and what they need to do to gain their first win of the conference season.
"This is another weekend of tough league games and our players understand the significance of getting some points on the road," said Kowall. "We want to continue to play better from week to week. As a team, we need to work harder both offensively and defensively to get the results we want. We'll have a better idea of what this year's league will be like after we play these two matches. Drake and Creighton are very good teams, but both are having up-and-down years."
Drake, last year's Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion for the third consecutive year, is 6-5-1 on the season, and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, after defeating Missouri State 2-1 in double overtime on Sept. 29. With the win over Missouri State, Drake continued its 15-game regular-season undefeated streak (14-0-1) in the MVC. Drake last fell to a Valley opponent in the regular season on Oct. 24, 2003 versus Northern Iowa, 2-1.
Thursday's 6 p.m. game with the Bulldogs will be played at the Cownie Soccer Complex. Illinois State enters the game looking to knock off a Drake squad that is undefeated in the all-time series. The Bulldogs own a 5-0-1 record since the first match between the teams in 2002. The `Birds fell to the Bulldogs twice last season, suffering a 1-0 loss at home on Sept. 30 and again in the State Farm MVC Tournament Semifinals on Nov. 4, 2-1. Former Redbird and two-time Valley MVP Heather Forsyth netted the only ISU goal against Drake last season in that tournament game.
The Bluejays open Valley action against the Redbirds after going 6-5-1 during their non-conference slate. Saturday's game in Omaha, Neb. will be played at 1 p.m. at Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium. Overall, in conference openers, Creighton holds a 5-3-1 record. In their first home conference game, the Jays are 7-1-1 all-time.
Creighton is the defending State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion and was also picked to win the Valley in the pre-season coaches poll. The Bluejays went 12-6-3 in the regular season and finished second in the Valley¬¬¬¬ with a 4-2 conference record in 2005. CU defeated conference regular-season champion Drake, 1-0, to take the tournament crown.
Illinois State leads the all-time series with 2005 State Farm MVC Tournament Champion, 7-4-2. The Redbirds also have bragging rights heading into Saturday's game, as the `Birds beat the Jays last season in Normal, 3-1.
"We do have some momentum again Creighton and I think it will be good for us in the sense that we know what to expect," Kowall continued. "Drake is pretty young team this year compared to the last three or four years. Thursday's game will be a good opportunity for us to play well and beat them at their place."
