NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team kept its regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title hopes alive with a 2-1 win over visiting Indiana State Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field. The win was the first come-from-behind victory for the Redbirds this season.
"Today was an emotional day as we recognized our four seniors," head coach Drew Roff said. "We didn't come out real strong and gave up the early goal, but after that we created a lot of chances and bounced back strong. After our first goal, we continued to push and did what we had to do. It was one of those days where it wasn't our best day, but we got the victory and we will take it. It was a very gritty performance by our team."
Illinois State was forced to play from behind after allowing an early penalty kick to the Sycamores in the 11th minute. Redbird goalkeeper Mara Kremenovic made an aggressive play to prevent an Indiana State breakaway goal and was whistled for a foul inside the box. Alison Gasparovich, who leads the MVC in goals, was successful on the penalty kick attempt, giving the Sycamores an early 1-0 advantage.
The Redbirds saw several first-half opportunities come up just short, but continued to apply pressure and found the equalizer in 44th minute. Junior Jessica Carlson sent a corner kick to the far post and found sophomore Kelly Rosenthal whose header trickled across the goal line to tie the score at 1-1.
Illinois State outshot the Sycamores 13-3 in the opening 45 minutes and carried the momentum from Rosenthal's goal into the second half, as the Redbirds looked for the first come-from-behind victory of the season.
Carlson completed the Illinois State comeback by netting the game-winner in the 52nd minute. Carlson collected a loose ball, dribbled to the top of the 18-yard box and fired a low, hard shot to the near post that rolled past the outstretched arms of Indiana State goalkeeper Emily Lahay.
"Jess is the type of player, where when she has the ball on her foot, you can relax for a little bit," Roff said. "She is comfortable with the ball and is a gamer. She has always stepped up for us in big games and doesn't shy away from the big moment. Players like that are worth everything. She just stood up and buried a great goal and that was the one we needed. I am never surprised when Jess Carlson scores a great goal."
Senior Alyssa Schulz and freshman Kyla Cross each fired four shots to lead Illinois State offensively. Kremenovic recorded four second-half saves to preserve the victory for the Redbirds and lower her goals against average to 1.18 in her first season at Illinois State.
With Sunday's three-point effort, Carlson has now recorded seven points in her last three contests and leads the Redbirds with 15 points, five goals, five assists and three game-winners. Seven of Illinois State's eight wins have come in one-goal contests and Sunday's victory marks the third-straight one-goal decision for the Redbirds.
"It is nice [that the win today] makes the last game of the year at Creighton mean something," Roff said. "It would be nice to go in there and get that win, but we are going to give it our best shot and are excited to have the opportunity. Our players like to play in meaningful games and that last game of the year will definitely mean something."
The win propels Illinois State to 8-6-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the MVC, sealing a fourth-consecutive winning season for the Redbirds. Indiana State falls to 8-9-1 on the year and 2-4-0 in Valley matches. Illinois State will complete its regular-season Thursday, Oct. 28, when it travels to Omaha, Neb., for a 7 p.m. contest with Creighton. The Redbirds can guarantee themselves a share of the MVC regular-season title with a win over the Bluejays at Morrison Stadium.
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