NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State women's soccer team will not only be looking for a victory Sunday, when they welcome Kansas to Adelaide Street Field, it will also be looking to break a single-game attendance record. Fans are encouraged to "Pack the Stands" for Sunday's contest, as the Redbirds (2-2) will host the Jayhawks (1-1) at 1 p.m.
"We have a great bunch of student-athletes here at Illinois State and are encouraging the community and other students to come out and support them this Sunday," head coach Drew Roff said. "We only play a handful of home games each season and get very few opportunities to host a team like Kansas."
ISU played on their home field for the first time this season last weekend, splitting a pair of games with Eastern Michigan and DePaul. The Eagles bested the Redbirds, 1-0, Friday after scoring on a penalty kick in the seventh minute. The loss was the first for Illinois State at Adelaide Street Field since Sept. 2007, snapping an 18-match home unbeaten streak for the Redbirds. Illinois State responded with a 1-0 win over in-state rival DePaul on Sunday. Freshman Anna Stinson scored the game-winner in the sixth minute, heading in a cross from fellow freshman Heather Sterling.
Kansas will take a 1-1 record into Friday's match with Northwestern, before making the trip to Normal, Ill. The Jayhawks opened the season with a 3-0 win against Eastern Kentucky, before falling, 5-0, at Georgia. KU finished 2009 with a 12-8-2 overall record and a 4-6 mark in Big 12 matches. Kansas is led by junior forward Emily Cressy who led the Jayhawks with 12 goals and 27 points last season.
For the first time this season, the Redbirds will have a single-game week, and will have Friday off before hosting Kansas, Sunday.
"I'm not sure that it is an advantage for us to have Friday off," Roff said. "Early in the season, I think you just want to get out there and play games. I think we saw that last week. We didn't quite play with the same intensity and focus in our first game of the weekend on Friday as we did against DePaul on Sunday."
The Jayhawks lead the all-time series with Illinois State, 3-0, wining the last meeting between the two squads in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2003. KU topped the Redbirds, 3-1, in ISU's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
"[Kansas] is a very good team with strong players in the midfield," Roff said. "We are going to prepare for a game in which we are going to have to defend extremely well. It is also crucial that we are more dangerous in the attack than we have been. We know that we cannot just defend the whole 90 minutes; we also have to put them under some pressure. The key is to lock them down defensively. If you let talented players like that have time and space, they are really going to hurt you. We know we have to play our best game so far this season if we are going to have success on Sunday."
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