NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team (8-5-0, 3-1-0 MVC) recognized its seven seniors with Senior Day ceremonies prior to Sunday's match and capped the afternoon with a 3-1 win over Evansville (1-9-4, 0-2-0 MVC) at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds also honored former ISU player Julie Heidecke with the presentation of the annual Heidecke Award to senior Natalie McCabe.
"It was big to get those early goals and really set the tone," head coach Drew Roff said. "Our goal was to come out strong and I thought the first 10 to 15 minutes we were knocking the ball around very well. We would have liked to put a few more away in that second half and been more efficient in front of the goal, but we are pleased with the victory."
ISU applied offensive pressure early in the contest and got its first goal from freshman Rachel Tejada in the 18th minute. Tejada collected a pass from senior Jessica Carlson just inside the top of the 18-yard box, before dribbling in a few steps and finishing the chance to the far post. The goal was Tejada's 14th of the season and the assist was Carlson's seventh, tying her with Meghan Boler and Yvonne Northover for the Illinois State single-season record.
"When Rachel and Jess are on, they are dangerous," Roff said. "The scary thing is I think they are still working on their timing and connection. We are putting teams under a lot of pressure and forcing them to make big saves."
Sophomore Kyla Cross netted her third goal of the season in the 27th minute to push the Redbird advantage to 2-0. Cross received a long pass from fellow sophomore Anna Stinson, beat a UE defender and fired a shot past Evansville goalkeeper Chaviel Harrison.
After outshooting Evansville, 17-0, in the first half, ISU added another goal just over 10 minutes into the second half. Tejada received a centering pass from Cross and found the back of the net from 15 yards for her 15th tally of the year, moving her into sole possession of third place on ISU's single-season goal list and into a tie for second on the single-season point list with 34.
The Purple Aces managed just three shots over the course of the match, but managed to score on one of them, when Breana Beine collected a clearance from a UE defender at midfield and created a breakaway chance. Beine dribbled around ISU keeper Aryn Newsom, who attempted to make a sliding save, and chipped the ball into an open net.
For the game, the Redbirds outshot the Purple Aces, 28-3, and earned 11 corner kicks to Evansville's one. Tejada led Illinois State with nine shots and Newsom made a pair of saves to improve her record to 6-4-0 on the season.
Following the match, the Illinois State players, coaches and fans gathered outside Adelaide Street Field to honor former Redbird player Julie Heidecke, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1998. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Heidecke Award, which is presented annually to the player who follows Heidecke's path in commitment, spirit, determination, leadership, sportsmanship, academics, morality and concern for others.
"Our seniors mean everything to our program," Roff said. "When they came in, I was telling them they had a chance to build a program and now they are expecting to win instead of hoping to win. I can't say enough about them and I hope they have a lot of soccer left to play. The final chapter hasn't quite been written, but those seven have been tremendous and it has been a great privilege to work with them."
ISU will play its final road conference game of the season when it travels to Terre Haute, Ind., to take on Indiana State Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.
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