NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team earned a 0-0 draw with visiting Missouri State, in its first overtime game of the season Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field. Following the game, seniors Alyssa Schulz and Ruthie Zemke were honored as this year's Heidecke Award winners.
For the second straight game, the Redbirds outshot their opponent by a double-digit margin, but could not find the back of the net. ISU posted a 26-5 shot advantage over the Bears, and took nine corner kicks to MSU's two.
"We played great," head coach Drew Roff said. "We worked hard, played together and created so many chances. It just seems that there is a lid on the goal and we just can't find that goal. We were the better team today, we created a lot, but it just wouldn't go in. We are going to build off of this and once we get a few breaks and put a couple of balls away, I think this team can do a lot of things."
Illinois State and Missouri State played even through the first 45 minutes, but the Redbirds started to gain momentum and took control in the late stages of the contest. Several ISU attempts sailed just over the crossbar, wide of the goal or were stopped by MSU goalkeeper Jessica Teahan, who tallied six saves.
Illinois State controlled much of the action in the two overtime periods. ISU outshot Missouri State, 14-1, over the final 20 minutes and fired off a flurry of shot attempts in the waning moments of the match. In the final seconds, a corner kick from Kyla Cross was headed down in front of an open MSU goal, but the Redbirds could not capitalize and settled for the tie.
Junior forward Jessica Carlson led all players with eight shot attempts and sophomore Rachel Bostick added six, including several headers that just missed the mark. Carlson and freshman Anna Stinson combined for four of the Redbirds' six shots on goal.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mara Kremenovic stopped four Missouri State shots and earned her fourth clean sheet of the season.
Following the match, the Illinois State players, coaches and fans gathered outside Adelaide Street Field to honor former Redbird player Julie Heidecke, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1998. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Heidecke Award, which is presented annually to the player who follows Heidecke's path in commitment, spirit, determination, leadership, sportsmanship, academics, morality and concern for others.
"I told our players that they should be very proud of their effort today," Roff said. "Heidecke Day is always a big day for us. It is a great day to connect with some players who have been here over the years. It is a special day and our girls always come to play. We played together and we played like a family."
With the draw, the Redbirds move to 5-6-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while Missouri State now stands at 8-4-2 and 2-0-1 in the Valley. ISU will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 16, when it travels to Evansville for a conference match with the Purple Aces at 5 p.m.
"We dug down deep, we battled, but we just didn't get the result," Roff added. "I told our players after the game that sometimes you just have to keep knocking on that wall and keeping putting in the work. We are real close and we are going to get there. We have too much talent and too much character for it not to happen. We are going to be ready to play [against Evansville] and I think we are ready to turn the corner and play great soccer the rest of the way."
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