NORMAL, Ill. - Led by juniors Yvonne Northover and Shannon Duggan who scored goals for the squad on the day, the Illinois State soccer team notched both a win and tie on April 14 in its final tournament of the spring 2007 season . The `Birds defeated Western Illinois, 1-0, and played to a 1-1 tie with Wisconsin, on Saturday at Adelaide Street Field.
Dictating the tempo of the game, the Redbirds controlled the ball for the majority of Saturday's morning's matchup with Western Illinois. Northover found the back of the net for a first half goal against the Westerwinds on a well-played ball that set the junior up in front of the goal. The goal was the first of the spring for the forward.
"We kept possession of the ball and continued to attack," said Illinois State head coach Drew Roff. "We were always on their half of the field and knocking on the door. We had plenty of opportunities to score, especially in the second half when they sat in to protect their goal. I was hoping we could score again because 1-0 leads are always dangerous. But we attacked well and came away with the win."
In the second game of the day, ISU continued its aggressive attack and stifling defense. After battling through a scoreless first half, the `Birds were again the first to score, as Duggan placed a shot past the Wisconsin keeper for the Redbird goal. Duggan, a defender, has not scored a goal in her Illinois State career, though she notched an assist in 2005. She has taken just 16 shots through three seasons with the Redbirds. The Badgers scored with six minutes left in regulation to tie the game and neither team could pull away as the game ended in a draw.
"The team again created great chances against Wisconsin," said Roff. "We applied solid pressure all game but with about ten minutes left, I thought fatigue set in and they took advantage of that opportunity.
"One thing I noticed about this team when I got here was our urgency to move the ball forward. As a result, we were giving away possession too easily," Roff continued. "What I wanted to do was to implement a more possession-oriented game. These past couple weeks, against good competition, we have been able to knock the ball around, string together some great passes and keep possession. That has made teams chase us and we've been able to wear down our opponents a bit."
