INDIANAPOLIS - After dropping its preseason opener to Valparaiso, the Illinois State women's soccer team rebounded with a 5-1 win over IUPUI in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon.
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes on goals by senior Alyssa Schulz and sophomore Rachel Bostick. Schulz scored in first goal of the contest in the seventh minute, connecting on a 10-yard shot on a pass from junior Jessica Carlson, before Bostick doubled the Redbird lead in the 10th minute, slotting a ball inside the right post from eight yards out.
"We did a lot of things better this afternoon than we did in our first exhibition," head coach Drew Roff said. "We did a much better job of keeping possession, which allowed us to dictate the pace of the game and as a result we created a lot of scoring chances. Besides the goal we gave up, I thought our defense was well organized and communcated it well. It was a nice team effort."
The Jaguars' Alicia Brock cut the ISU advantage in half in the 19th minute, beating a challenging Mara Kremenovic from 14 yards.
Illinois State took a 3-1 into the half after junior Mary Sahm scored on a penalty kick in the 39th minute.
Bostick netted her second goal of the match and Carlson was credited with her second assist when Bostick headed in a corner kick from the foot of Carlson to give the Redbirds a 4-1 lead in the 48th minute.
Freshman Allie Newsom capped the scoring for ISU finding the back of the net from the top of the 18-yard box in the 83rd minute for the final 5-1 tally.
The Redbird defense limited the Jaguars to only five shot attempts and did not allow a corner kick. Kremenovic picked up the win in goal, making a pair of saves in the opening half.
"We definitely raised our intensity level this afternoon, got a lot of players on the field, and our younger players definitely took advantage of that," Roff said. "It was a nice step forward and we are excited to get the regular season underway next Friday."
The Redbirds will open their regular-season Aug. 20 at Akron. It will be the first-ever meeting between ISU and Akron in women's soccer.
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