NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State offense came alive in the Homecoming meeting with Indiana State, as the Redbirds (8-7-1, 3-1-0 MVC) shutout the Sycamores (3-11-1, 1-3-0 MVC), 5-0, at Adelaide Street Field. Four different Redbirds scored, including two goals by freshman Mary Sahm.
Sahm netted two goals in a three-minute span in the second half to record the first multi-goal of her career and of the season for a Redbird player. She is tied for second on the team with three goals on the year, which leads Redbird freshmen as well. Her first goal came in the 73rd minute when she knocked home a deflection off a corner kick into the left side of the net. She scored again in the 76th minute when sophomore Alyssa Schulz's shot was deflected to the left side and Sahm was there to corral the rebound.
Senior Mel Routledge also had a multi-point day with a goal and an assist. Juniors Raquel Rattray and Amy Heredia also scored for the Redbirds. Rattray is tied with Sahm and junior Danielle Mutters for second on the team with three goals and she is second with eight points. Heredia recorded the first goal and points of her career. She is the sixth Redbird to score her first goal this season. Freshman Sasha Reiber made just one save to record her fourth shutout of the year.
ISU's five goals tied for the fourth-most in a game in program history. The Redbirds have tallied five goals in a game on six other occasions, the last coming against Evansville in 2005. It was another dominating performance for the Redbird offense, holding a 22-5 advantage in shots over the Sycamores.
"We really established the tempo and maintained it throughout the game," said ISU head coach Drew Roff. "This was a lot like the Northern Iowa game in that we were aggressive on offense and had plenty of chances to score, but today we managed to get that final touch in front of the net and produce more goals. I was very pleased with the way we played, it was a good day for us."
Routledge put the Redbirds on top six minutes into the game. A free kick was headed back outside of the goalie box by the Indiana State defense and Routledge came up through the middle and struck a shot into the upper right portion of the net, just over the diving arm of Indiana State goalkeeper Taylor Nelson.
Two minutes later, junior Ammanda Wisniewski beat the Sycamore defense down the right side and sent a shot to the far post that bounced just wide of the net. In the 13th minute, ISU had its first corner kick and took advantage of it. Routledge played the ball in from the left side and Rattray jumped over the Indiana State defenders in the middle of the box to head the ball just under the crossbar and give ISU a 2-0 lead.
Indiana State had a dangerous cross in the 19th minute, playing the ball right in front of the goal and Seyma Erenli put a foot on it, but Reiber was right in front of her to stop the shot. The Sycamores had a mass substitution in the 21st minute, replacing their entire defensive unit, including a new goalkeeper, Emily Lahay.
Wisniewski had another shot bound just wide of the post when she came up the left side and sent a shot to the far post. Routledge had a point-blank shot on the right side that went right at Lahay. McCabe had another chance at a score in the 39th minute when she headed a corner kick from sophomore Bethany Brown off to the left of the net. Brown tried to score on her own soon after, as she turned on a throw in and sent a quick shot at the net, but it was right at Lahay.
Rattray had a shot from 25 yards out in the opening seconds of the second half that Lahay saved easily, but she lost the handle for a moment and the ball nearly bounced over the goal line before she could corral it. Brown had another scoring opportunity right after she checked into the game for the first time of the second half. She tried a one-time shot off a throw in right in front of the net, but the shot sailed high over the crossbar.
Heredia's goal came in the 60th minute. Routledge played another corner into the box that was punched out by Lahay. The ball was batted around between players and came free at the top of the goalie box where Heredia made a run on it and blasted a shot into the top of the goal. Lahay was out of place on the play, leaving the goal wide open for Herdia.
Illinois State hosts Missouri State Sunday, Oct. 26
