Sept. 6, 2009
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State women's soccer team tallied its first win of the season at home Sunday in a shutout victory over Northern Illinois, 1-0, after a second-half goal by ISU's Jessica Carlson.
Carlson led the Redbirds with five total shots in the game with two shots-on-goal. Carlson's lone goal came in the 63rd minute of the game after a pass from teammate Bethany Brown. The goal marked Brown's first points of the season.
With the win, the Redbirds moved to 1-2-1 overall this season, while the Huskies fell to 1-3-0. The Redbird shutout victory marked the third shutout loss in a row for the Huskies. On the game, ISU outshot NIU 20-6, while ISU recorded the only corner kicks of the game with four.
According to head coach Drew Roff, a strong Redbird defense was the reason for the shutout win.
"I was pleased with our center backs and goalkeeper," said Roff. "It was important for our center backs to stay organized. It was also Kristin Cooley's first start of her college career, and for a freshman, I think she looked like a veteran. She did a great job. We had very few mistakes in the back. We didn't give up any goals, and that is something we focused on in practice. There were times when I think we rushed it, but we stuck with our game plan today. It's good to get that first win under our belt."
Sasha Reiber played all 90 minutes as the Redbirds' goalkeeper, recording one save.
For the Huskies, Lisa Maier led the team in shots with two, and goalie Lindsey Curnock recorded five saves with one goal allowed.
With the win, ISU moved to 5-1-2 in all-time home openers and 74-23-14 at home since the start of the program.
The Redbirds are set to continue nonconference play next weekend when they travel to Michigan to face Michigan State (Sept. 11) and Central Michigan (Sept. 13).
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