NORMAL, Ill. - Senior Jessica Carlson closed the 2011 preseason in dominating fashion, scoring a hat trick to lead the Illinois State soccer team to a 5-1 win over IUPUI Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field in ISU's final exhibition game.
Both teams saw early scoring chances denied and it was Carlson that broke the scoreless tie, putting the Redbirds on the board in the 28th minute. After Illinois State was awarded a free kick, junior Kristin Cooley delivered a ball from 30 yards out into the center of the box and Carlson finished the chance with a header inside the far post.
"In the first half, I thought we started out by possessing the ball really well, the movement was good and we got the first goal," head coach Drew Roff said. "After that, we relaxed a little bit, but we continued to create some chances. I thought we were using the middle of the park too much and weren't using the flanks at all. Once we made that adjustment, I felt like the game changed a bit and really opened up for us."
Carlson's goal would be the only tally of the first half, as ISU outshot the Jaguars, 7-1, in the first 45 minutes and nearly doubled its lead when sophomore Anna Stinson blasted a ball from 20 yards out that rang the crossbar midway through the opening stanza.
IUPUI wasted no time finding the equalizer in the second half, scoring in the 48th minute. Sarah Wong slide a through ball past the Redbird defense and Sarah Carlisle made the run and finished by chipping it over a sliding Aryn Newsom and into the back of the net.
"I was disappointed that we gave up the goal and felt that we got caught flat and lost focus," Roff said. "There was about a 10 to 15 minute period where we looked disjointed and unorganized, but we did get back on track and got back to that organization. That is something that has to be better, but it is better to learn from that now, in an exhibition, rather than later in the season."
Illinois State countered with a similar goal in the 59th minute, after Stinson collected a loose ball and quickly delivered a pass to freshman Rachel Tejada, who was making a run through the box and fired a shot that was true from 12 yards out for her first goal in a Redbird uniform.
Tejada's strike opened the flood gates for ISU, as the Redbirds scored its final three goals in a three-minute span. Carlson notched her second goal on a corner kick service that went off the hands off IUPUI goalkeeper Kristin Haseley and into the net in the 75th minute. Carlson completed the hat trick just over 30 seconds later, finishing a pass from fellow senior Natalie McCabe from just inside the top of the box.
Freshman Gabbi McArtor capped the scoring for Illinois State in the 77th minute, collecting a loose ball off a failed clearance and pushing it into the back of the net from inside three yards.
Newsom made three saves on the afternoon and earned her second win in as many games in goal. The Illinois State defense held the Jaguars to just six shot attempts and three corner kick opportunities.
"Our players have worked very hard over this preseason," Roff said. "We have stressed the fundamentals and thrown a lot of things at them, but they have responded very well. I feel we have prepared as well as we can and I look forward to us getting better each week."
The Redbirds will open the regular season Friday, Aug. 19, when they host Southeast Missouri State for a 4 p.m. match at Adelaide Street Field.
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