Sept. 17, 2009
Week 5 Game Notes 
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's soccer team is set to play a split weekend at home and Chicago this weekend as it plays host to Eastern Illinois Friday at 4 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field and travels to face DePaul Sunday at 1 p.m.
Friday's game also marks International Day, where international students' admission is only one dollar.
The Redbirds are 1-4-1 overall and went 0-2 last weekend, being shutout by Michigan State (Sept. 11), 2-0, and Central Michigan (Sept. 13), 1-0 in overtime. Sasha Reiber played all 187:32 minutes on the weekend as goalkeeper for the Redbirds, recording eight saves. Ammanda Wisniewski led the Redbirds in shots with five on the weekend including two shots-on-goal.
"We had a tough weekend up in Michigan," said head coach Drew Roff. "I thought we defended well in both games, but we are putting too much pressure on our defense right now. We have been shutout too many times this season. It really comes down to execution in the final third. Our forwards need to be a little sharper, and we really need someone to step up. We need someone to be that difference marker and score some goals. There are many ways to score. So, we have been focusing on that aspect all week and working to build some confidence in our forwards. I think we have players who can do it, but it's a very mental process."
The Panthers are 3-2-2 this season after a 2-0 win over Northern Iowa Sunday (Sept. 13), while the Blue Demons are coming off a 2-1 loss to Wisconsin Sunday (Sept. 13), going 4-2-2 overall.
"Eastern and DePaul will be tough tests again for the team," said Roff. "We don't have any easy games on our schedule. Despite our record, I think the team is improving every game. We are going to use these next four games to prepare us for our conference season."
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Eastern Illinois, 8-4-0. The last time the two teams met was on Oct. 29, 2008, when Illinois State won, 3-2.
Sunday's game marks the first time the Redbirds and the Blue Demons have played each other since 1998, when ISU won 2-1. Illinois State leads the all-time series against DePaul, 2-1-0.
