NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's soccer team continues its seven-game road trek with a pair of games this weekend. The Redbirds (3-1-0) face Purdue (2-1-0) Friday at 4:30 p.m. and No. 25 UW-Milwaukee (3-0-0) Sunday at noon. ISU hasn't played either team in at least three years and both squads are highly-ranked in the region and the nation.
"After two tough road games last weekend we are heading out on the road again for an even tougher challenge," said head coach Drew Roff. "Both Purdue and Wisconsin-Milwaukee have been nationally-ranked this season and have both had some very impressive results lately. We know we have our work cut out for us, but we have a young team that needs to compete at this level in order to get where we want to be. Facing this level of opponents on the road is only going to make us stronger once conference play begins."
GRILL-DONOVAN NAMED BRINE/MVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior goalkeeper Katie Grill-Donovan was named the Brine/Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, the first honor of her career. Grill-Donovan was named to the all-tournament team at the Lakeside Invitational over Labor Day weekend, posting nine saves and a shutout in the two games. She was the first Redbird to win the weekly conference award since 2005 and the 16th Redbird goalie to earn the honor all-time; the last coming in 2004.
SOME OF THE BEST IN THE LAND
ISU will face two of the best teams in the Great Lakes region this weekend. UW-Milwaukee is ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Region in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and fifth in the Soccer Buzz poll. This week, the Panthers cracked the Soccer Buzz Top-30 national poll, coming in at No. 25. Purdue is also highly-ranked in the Great Lakes region, coming in at sixth and ninth in the Soccer Buzz and NSCAA polls, respectively. Purdue was ranked in the NSCAA Top-25 for the first two weeks of the year, before dropping out this past week.
SISTER ACT
Junior midfielder Ammanda Wisniewski will see a familiar face on the opposing side of the field against Milwaukee. Her older sister, Andrea, is a senior for the Panthers. The two siblings have never faced each other in a college soccer game.
THE REDBIRDS-BOILERMAKERS SERIES
Purdue leads the all-time series with Illinois State, 2-1-0. The two teams have not met since 2003. After winning the first meeting, ISU has been shutout over the last two games against the Boilermakers.
THE REDBIRDS-PANTHERS SERIES
UW-Milwaukee leads the all-time series with Illinois State, 5-2-2. ISU hasn't beaten Milwaukee since 1999, a string of five games in which the Redbirds have posted a 0-3-2 record. Five of the last seven meetings have gone into overtime and each team has recorded four shutouts in the series.
