MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Illinois State allowed an early goal to UW-Milwaukee and was unable to produce the equalizer, falling to the Panthers, 1-0, Sunday at Engelmann Field. Illinois State has now been shutout in its last three-consecutive games to even its season record at 3-3-0. UW-Milwaukee, who is ranked No. 25 in the Soccer Buzz National Top-30, improved to 6-0-0 on the season.
Despite another close loss, head coach Drew Roff remains pleased with his team's effort; he simply feels they need to make a few adjustments offensively.
"We played well against a tough team for the second time this weekend, we just couldn't find the back of the net again," Roff said. "We have done a nice job against some very dangerous teams, but on offense, we can't seem to find that final touch to put players in positions to score. It's frustrating to play this hard and this well on the road against good teams, only to have nothing to show for it. We are definitely doing some things very well, so we can focus on the areas we need to improve even more in training."
Junior Katie Grill-Donovan made six saves in goal for the Redbirds, giving her 14 over the two games on the weekend. Junior Ammanda Wisniewski led the Redbirds for the third-consecutive game with three shots, while sophomore Mel Routledge had two and freshman Natalie McCabe had one shot.
ISU was shutout in three-consecutive games last season, posting two losses and a tie. The last time Illinois State lost three-straight games without scoring a goal was the beginning of the 1997 season. UW-Milwaukee had a 12-6 advantage in shots in the game, but ISU had all four corner kicks in the contest.
"There were plenty of times during the second half where I thought we had a better run at the play, but we just couldn't finish," Roff said. "Our defense put us in a position where all we needed was one goal to tie the game, but we just weren't dangerous enough up top.
UW-Milwaukee took the lead just over three minutes into the game and was able to hold on for the remainder of the contest. With the Panthers on the attack, Kayla DeJardin played the ball up to Kate Megna, who crossed the ball to Sarah Hagen. The Panther freshman settled the pass and scored her eighth goal of the season from 10 yards out.
"The goal Milwaukee scored was really the only bad mistake our defense made all day," Roff said. "It was a free ball that bounced around in the box and their leading scorer was able to come up with it and do what she has done all season. I was very pleased with the way we responded, however. When you give up a goal that early against a team with the offensive ability that Milwaukee has, especially on the road, you can lose momentum quickly. The players were composed and played hard to shut them out the rest of the way."
Both of Illinois State's best scoring opportunities came in the first half, when Routledge and McCabe each had shots that were saved.
The Redbirds close out their seven game road trip next weekend when they visit the state of Florida for the first time. ISU plays Central Florida Friday at 6 p.m. and South Florida at noon.
