NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team will play its final exhibition game Sunday afternoon, when it welcomes the IUPUI Jaguars to Adelaide Street Field for a Noon contest. Sunday's matchup will be the first of three-straight matches for the Redbirds on their home pitch, as they host Southeast Missouri State and Bowling Green in their first two regular-season games.
"We got off to a good start and got a solid performance Wednesday [at Green Bay] and that is what we were looking for," head coach Drew Roff said. "There are a couple things we would like to do better on Sunday. I felt that we had some opportunities against Green Bay to get in behind them and create some opportunities, but that final pass or the timing of a run was a little bit off. By no means do I expect that to be perfected in the first few days of practice, but that type of sharpness is something we will continue to strive for."
ISU is coming off a 2-0 shutout victory in its first exhibition match Wednesday at Green Bay. Junior Rachel Bostick provided the first goal for Illinois State on an assist by senior Jessica Carlson, while freshman Aimee Wronski netted an insurance goal late in the first half. Redshirt freshman Aryn Newsom earned the win in goal.
IUPUI finished its 2010 season with an 8-11-0 overall record and finished seventh in the Summit League standings with a 4-5-0 mark in league play. The Jaguars return 10 starters and 18 letterwinners from last year's squad, including leading scorer and First Team All-Summit selection Megan Hock. Hock tallied 15 points on seven goals and an assist.
"IUPUI has a couple great forwards up front that will definitely test us," Roff said. "Our backs weren't really tested as much as we would have liked on Wednesday, and I think this game will help us in that area. We are going to face some very talented forwards this year with the schedule that we play, and we need to be organized in the back. IUPUI is a team that can make us pay for mistakes and we cannot be casual with the ball defensively."
Illinois State posted a 5-1 victory over IUPUI last season in its final preseason game. Bostick led ISU with a pair of goals and Carlson was credited with a pair of assists.
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