NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's soccer team is in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference, but there is still a lot on the line with its final two conference games this weekend. The Redbirds (7-4-2, 3-0-1 MVC) visit Missouri State (6-9-1, 2-1-1 MVC) on Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. and host Drake (5-8-2, 2-2-0 MVC) in their final home game of the season on Sunday, Oct. 28, at noon. The top-two spots in the conference, and the automatic semifinal bids for the conference tournament that go with them, are still undecided and Illinois State is in contention with Evansville, Creighton and Missouri State heading into the final weekend of play.
Sunday's game against Drake will not only serve as the final home game of the season, but the final home game for the seven Redbird seniors. Shannon Duggan, Shannon Durocher, Amanda Lauber, Yvonne Northover, Jaclyn Roepke, Bethany Russ and Carrie Schurr will all be honored for their careers as Redbirds. During their four years together, they compiled a record of 32-29-14 and recorded 86 points with 29 goals and 28 assists between them.
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Missouri State, 9-4-6. The Redbirds and Bears both started playing soccer in 1996 and have faced each other more times than any other opponent in either program's history. The Redbirds are 4-0-2 in road games against the Bears. Missouri State does hold a 4-2-1 advantage in Valley Tournament games, including a 1-0 win in the first round last season that snapped their seven-game winless streak against ISU, dating back to 2002.
The Redbirds have yet to beat Drake in seven all-time meetings. The Bulldogs hold a 5-0-2 advantage since the two teams first met in 2002, but all of their wins have come by a one-goal margin. Last year's meeting ended in a scoreless tie.
