NORMAL, Ill. - It has been four weeks since the Illinois State soccer team has played a game at Adelaide Street field, but the Redbirds finally return home for a pair of games this weekend. Illinois State (3-5-0) hosts Western Illinois (2-2-1) Friday at 4 p.m. and Butler (3-4-0) Sunday at 2 p.m. ISU won its only home game of the season so far, a 3-1 victory over IPFW in the season-opener, and will try to snap a five-game losing streak.
Sunday's game against Butler will also be broadcast on WZND Radio and can be heard here.
Head coach Drew Roff is happy to be playing home games after a challenging and unprecedented road stint. He hopes to use these non-conference games to set his team on the right direction heading into Missouri Valley Conference play.
"To finally be at home after a month on the road is a welcome change for us," Roff said. "All of our players are really looking forward to having the support of the home crowd and the familiarity of playing on our field. Our goal is to really be hitting our stride next weekend when conference play begins, so this weekend's games are very important. There have been times this season that we have defended well and there have been times that we have played quality attacking soccer. It is time to put them both together and play at a consistently high level from start to finish. We have a couple of players in particular that have really picked up their game in the last week and we are going to need them to continue making those strides if we are going to achieve our goals this season."
ROUTLEDGE ON THE MOVE
Senior forward Mel Routledge scored her first two goals of the season during ISU's trip to Florida. Her two goals and four points over the two games moved her into a tie for fifth place on the ISU career goals list (15) and a tie for fourth place in points (39). She has scored multiple goals in each of her four seasons as a Redbird.
KEEPING IT TIGHT
The Redbirds have sweated out quite a few games already in the 2008 season. Six of ISU's eight games so far this year have been decided by just one goal. The Redbirds are 54-51 all-time in one-goal games, including a 2-5 mark this season.
FORMIDABLE FOES
ISU's five-straight losses don't seem as bad when you consider the quality of opponents the Redbirds faced. Four of the five losses came to teams that are regionally-ranked in both the Soccer Buzz and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) polls: Central Florida, UW-Milwaukee, Northwestern and Purdue. Milwaukee and Purdue were both nationally-ranked earlier this season as well.
