NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team will host Indiana State at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Sunday at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds defeated the Sycamores, 2-1, last Sunday in their final regular-season home contest.
"We didn't get the result [on Thursday], but I thought we did everything that we could aside from putting the ball in the net," head coach Drew Roff said. "It had been awhile since we had played in a game of that magnitude and in an environment like that. I was very proud of the team's effort, and I thought a lot of our younger players stepped up and played their best soccer of the year."
Illinois State completed the regular season with an overall record of 8-7-1, finished third in the final MVC standings with a 3-2-1 league mark and will be making its 15th-consecutive trip to the MVC Tournament.
The Redbirds saw their bid for a fourth-straight MVC regular-season championship come to an end Thursday evening in Omaha, Neb., as Creighton earned a 2-1 overtime win over Illinois State to win its first Valley regular-season crown since 2002.
"It was pretty disappointing to give up the penalty kick late in the game, but those things happen," Roff said. "We felt like we had the game won, but we hit the crossbar twice and hit the post. It is unbelievable that one of those didn't go in, but that's soccer. The good news is that the season isn't over, and if we play like we played Thursday night, we are going to have a good shot at getting to the championship game."
Junior Jessica Carlson gave the Redbirds a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick in the 50th minute, but the Bluejays scored the final two goals, including the game-winner just over five minutes into the overtime period. Carlson, who was named the 2009 MVC Tournament MVP, leads Illinois State with 17 points on six goals and five assists and has recorded 10 points in her last four games.
With Thursday's loss to Creighton and a win by Missouri State over Evansville, Illinois State slipped to third in the final Valley standings and missed securing a first-round bye for the first time since 2006. Illinois State will be looking to defend its 2009 State Farm MVC Tournament title after defeating the Bluejays, 1-0, in last season's title game.
Indiana State enters Sunday's game with an 8-9-1 overall record and a 2-4-0 mark in league matches. The Sycamores ended their regular season in Normal, Ill., with a 2-1 loss to the Redbirds last Sunday. Indiana State will be making its third-straight trip to the Valley Tournament and is led by Alison Gasparovich, who led the league with an Indiana State school-record nine goals and finished second in the conference with 21 points. Gasparovich scored the Sycamores' lone goal last Sunday in their loss to Illinois State. Indiana State goalkeeper Emily Lahay is tied for the single-season school record for shutouts with five and boasts a 0.96 goals against average.
"I think both teams [Indiana State and Illinois State] may make some minor adjustments based on the match from last week, but there really isn't a lot to change, it just comes down to execution," Roff added, "Both teams know what is at stake and both teams know that anything can happen. We know that we have to play extremely well and we know that we have to play better than we did the last time the Sycamores were here. It will be a good match, and we are excited to get back on the field. Our goal is to get back to Omaha and see what happens."
The Redbirds have an all-time record of 7-10-5 in 22 MVC Tournament games, have been involved in five shutouts, winning three, and have captured Valley Tournament titles in 2003 and 2009. This year marks the first time in program history that Illinois State has been the No. 3 seed in the MVC Tournament.
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