NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's soccer team will try to remain undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference as it concludes its regular-season play Thursday at Missouri State at 1 p.m. after clinching the 2009 MVC Regular-Season Championship for the third-straight season Sunday (Oct. 25).
"We are looking forward to finishing out the regular season with a strong showing at Missouri State," said head coach Drew Roff. "It will be a tough road test for us, but it will help prepare us for the conference tournament."
With the win, the Redbirds claimed the No. 1 seed spot in the 2009 State Farm MVC Championship and lead the league with seven regular-season titles. The last time Illinois State went undefeated in the conference season was in 2001.
On the season, the Redbirds are fourth in program history for points in a season at Illinois State with 96 and goals in a season with 36, while riding an eight-game winning streak. The Redbirds are just one win away from besting the program record for most consecutive wins in a season, while the Valley record is nine-straight wins set by Eastern Illinois in 1996.
The Redbirds (10-5-1, 5-0-0 MVC) are currently ranked No. 10 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in the Great Lakes Region that also includes Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Minnesota, Central Michigan and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Redbird sophomore Jessica Carlson leads the team in points with 23 on the season, moving her to tie for fourth place for points in a season at Illinois State. MVC Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 26), Alyssa Schulz has 17 total points on the season and is tied for first in the conference in goals with four in conference play.
Redbird goalkeeper Sasha Reiber is 7-4-1 overall and undefeated in conference play this season, recording three conference shutouts and five total shutouts on the season. Reiber ranks third at Illinois State for career shutouts with 11.
The Bears are 8-5-3 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play this season and are coming off a 2-0 win over SIU-Edwardsville (Oct. 25). With a win or a tie against Illinois State Thursday, Missouri State will get a bye in the first round of the MVC Tournament and be seeded No. 2.
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Missouri State, 11-5-5. The last time the two teams met was on Oct. 26, 2008, when Illinois State defeated Missouri State, 2-0. Eight games between the two teams have been decided in overtime, while six games have ended in a tie.
For the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional Rankings, visit: http://www.nscaa.com/SeniorResReg.php?it=1140&dv=1&rg=Great_Lakes
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