BOSTON - The Illinois State soccer team (1-2-0) rallied late in the second half, but could not overcome an early deficit, as the Redbirds fell, 3-2, to Boston University (2-0-1) Friday evening at Nickerson Field in Boston.
The Terriers scored the first goal of the match late in the second half, as Krista Minto finished a free kick service directly in front of the net in the 42nd minute. Jessica Luscinski put a ball to the near post that ISU goalkeeper Mara Kremenovic was unable to handle, allowing Minto to finish from close range.
"I thought the first half was pretty even," head coach Drew Roff said. "They had a couple of great chances and so did we. I really thought we played well enough to get out of that half, 0-0, and if we could have, it might have changed the game. I didn't think we did a great job defending the free kick and they took advantage."
BU doubled its lead in the 58th minute on a goal by Brittany Heist. Heist controlled a short pass from Minto to the top of the 18-yard box, made a quick turn and sent a shot into the upper left corner of the net.
Taylor Krebs added her name to the sheet for Boston, netting the eventual game-winner in the 78th minute. Krebs gave the Terriers a 3-0 advantage by finishing a pass from Ana Cuffia for her first tally of the season.
Despite being down by three goals, the Redbirds continued to create chances and finally got in the board in the 82nd minute. Freshman Rachel Tejada collected a rebound off the foot of sophomore Anna Stinson and finished from close range to trim the BU margin to 3-1.
"Boston is a very good team with good team speed, and they raised their level of play for about a 15-minute span in the second half," Roff said. "We had been battling the entire game and we seemed a step slow during that span. However, I thought our team really showed what they were made of by being down 3-0 and making it a 3-2 game in the end. If you look at BU over the years, they don't give up many goals and it is very rare to score two against them."
Tejada struck again in the 86th minute, finishing a pass from senior Jessica Carlson for her fourth goal of the season. Illinois State pushed numbers forward in the final minutes of the contest and had a set piece opportunity with less than a minute remaining, but the Boston defense was able to come up with a long clearance and hand ISU its second loss of the year.
"We came out here and played a great game against a great opponent," Roff said. "I felt like we were right there and it was a great learning experience for us. We are never happy with moral victories, but with all things considered, I like what I saw out of our team."
Tejada led ISU with five shots and accounted for all three Redbird shots that were on goal. Kremenovic collected four saves in the loss, making three in the final 45 minutes.
Due to the threat of impending weather and Hurricane Irene, Illinois State's matchup with Sacred Heart scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled, but the Redbirds will return to the pitch Friday, Sept. 2, when they host in-state rival Northern Illinois for a 4 p.m. contest at Adelaide Street Field.
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