NORMAL, Ill. - After a three-game road stint, the Illinois State soccer team will return home for a pair of games with Missouri Valley Conference foes Northern Iowa and Missouri State this weekend. The Redbirds will host the Panthers Friday at 3 p.m. and Sunday's showdown with the Bears is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field.
"It is great to be back at home," head coach Drew Roff said. "We are ready to get back to Adelaide Street Field, where we have had a lot of success and our players are comfortable. This weekend is big with two conference games, and holds big implications for the conference race. We are ready to play our best soccer of the season."
ISU stands at 5-5-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in MVC play. After suffering three-straight losses to Iowa State, Northwestern, and Minnesota, the Redbirds opened their conference schedule with a 2-0 win at Drake Sunday. Junior forward Jessica Carlson recorded her 11th career game-winning goal in the 38th minute, and assisted senior Alyssa Schulz on her goal in the 51st minute that sealed the win for Illinois State.
"The win over Drake was big to get us off on the right foot," Roff said. "We were able to attack more [at Drake] and we want to continue that aggressive attacking mentality this weekend. It is going to be a great challenge, but I am excited because I feel that we are still getting better and have a lot of room to grow."
After Sunday's three-point performance, Carlson leads the Redbirds with seven points, three goals, and 29 shot attempts. Defensively, Illinois State held Drake without a shot on goal in the second half and helped sophomore goalkeeper Mara Kremenovic record her third shutout of the season. Kremenovic collected four saves against the Bulldogs, raising her season total to 42.
Northern Iowa brings a 2-9-2 overall record and 0-2-0 Valley mark into Friday's game at Adelaide Street Field. The Panthers have dropped one-goal decisions to Missouri State and Creighton and are coming off a 0-0 tie with non-conference opponent South Dakota. Seniors Chelsie Hochstedler and Nicole Ferlito lead UNI with three goals each and have combined for six of the Panthers' 10 goals this season.
"Northern Iowa doesn't have a lot of wins this year, but in the game of soccer it is about who shows up for 90 minutes," Roff said. "There is a lot of parity in this league and we are focused on playing our game. We are certainly not looking past Northern Iowa. Missouri State and Creighton are two of the teams that are going to contend for the championship this year in the Valley and UNI played them in extremely tight matches. We have a good team, but we realize that we need to bring it every single day."
Missouri State, who was tabbed third in the MVC Preseason Coaches' Poll, enters Sunday's match with an 8-4-1 overall record and a perfect 2-0-0 mark in the MVC. The Bears have won four-straight matches, including conference victories over Northern Iowa and Indiana State. Freshman Brooke Williams leads the Bears with 11 points and five goals, while junior goalkeeper Jessica Teahan boasts a 0.99 goals against average and .812 save percentage to go along with 52 saves.
"The main thing with Missouri State is that you can always expect them to be strong defensively," Roff said. "Our focus will be on figuring out how to break them down, how we can get chances and how we can put them under pressure. We respect them in the attack and they have a couple of players that we always have to know where they are. We know that we are going to have to score some goals and that is our focus, especially against a team whose goal is to shut you down and not give you those chances. We need to have a better performance than we did last year and we know this game will have implications on how the conference race will shape up at the end of the year."
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Northern Iowa, 9-1, suffering its only loss to the Panthers in 2006. Last season, the Redbirds came away with a 5-0 victory in Waterloo, Iowa. ISU has played Missouri State more than any other team in program history and will face the Bears for the 23rd time on Sunday. The two squads have met eight times in postseason play, and the Redbirds hold an 11-5-6 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Missouri State handed ISU its only conference loss with a 1-0 win in Springfield, Mo.
Friday is Greek Day at Adelaide Street Field. Free admission will be granted to those who are wearing their Greek letters. Sunday, the Redbirds will honor former ISU soccer player Julie Heidecke on Heidecke Day. Heidecke was killed in an automobile accident in 1998 and an award was established in her honor by former Illinois State head coach Pete Kowall, the Julie Heidecke Foundation and Redbird Athletics. The Heidecke Award is presented annually to a Redbird player who follows Heidecke's path in commitment, spirit, determination, leadership, sportsmanship, academics, morality and concern for others.
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