NORMAL, Ill. - In the first ever meeting between the two schools, Oregon rode the momentum of four first half goals to a 5-1 win over Illinois State on Sunday, Sept. 23, at Adelaide Street Field. The loss was the second-consecutive for Illinois State and its first at home this season.
Senior forward Carrie Schurr netted the Redbirds' lone goal, her first of the season. Senior defender Amanda Lauber picked up her second assist of the year on the score. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Grill-Donovan had seven saves, one shy of her career-high mark that she set against Central Michigan. Grill-Donovan made some spectacular saves during the game, but too Oregon had too many opportunities deep in Redbird territory.
"I thought our effort was good today," said head coach Drew Roff. "We knew we had to match their intensity and play physical to compete with a team like this. We did compete physically, but they brought in so much team speed that it kind of wore us down. We are not used to seeing that. You can't replicate that speed in training and we haven't seen a team with that much talent, especially up front."
Oregon got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute when midfielder Allison Newton broke down the left side and launched a shot from 15 yards out into the upper corner of the net. The goal was the first allowed by ISU at home all season. Previously, the Redbirds had outscored their opponents 9-0 at Adelaide Street Field.
The Ducks struck again quickly with their second goal coming just two minutes later. The ball came right next to the left corner of the Illinois State goal and Newton slid in and knocked it past two Redbird defenders. Oregon's third goal came in the 27th minute when midfielder Teresa Bowns knocked home a rebound off a Grill-Donovan save that she couldn't hold on to.
Illinois State answered at the 36:31 mark with its first goal. After an Oregon foul, Lauber lined up for a free kick 15 yards into Oregon territory. Lauber lofted the ball into the middle of the penalty box and Schurr leapt above the pack of players vying for the ball and headed it into the right side of the goal to cut the deficit down to 3-1.
Oregon added another goal before the end of the first half. Off a Bowns cross, midfielder Dani Oster had a header that was saved by Grill-Donovan, but forward Jill Jensen knocked in the rebound.
Illinois State played a tougher first half, limiting Oregon's chances and pressing harder on the offensive end. After being outshot 11-4 in the first half, the Redbirds managed six shots in the second half. The Ducks did score once more, but not until the 68th minute when Bowns got free on a breakaway down the right side and scored her second of the game on a shot to the opposite upper corner.
"Any time you lost 5-1, it's a bit humbling, but I feel that if we had given the kind of effort we did in this game in some of our other games, we would have come out on the winning end," said Roff. "It's good to see a team at the level of Oregon because it will prepare us for conference play and give us something to aspire to."
Illinois State visits Oakland on Sunday, Sept. 30, at noon.
