NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team posted an impressive 5-0, shutout win against visiting in-state rival Northern Illinois Friday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds netted four second-half goals to secure the victory and four ISU players recorded multiple points.
After last Friday's 3-2 loss to Boston, head coach Drew Roff set three goals for this team: score early, keep scoring and record a shutout. ISU accomplished all three of those goals in winning its fourth-straight match against the Huskies.
"Our main goal was to get the shutout and it was nice to see both goalkeepers contribute," Roff said. "I think our pressure wore them down in the second half, we got a little more movement and put it in the back of the net. Northern Illinois is a hardworking team and keeping possession was a little bit tougher than we would have liked, but eventually seams started to open up and we took advantage of good finishing."
Sophomore Anna Stinson recorded the lone goal in the first half in the 22nd minute, blasting a pass from freshman Rachel Tejada into the upper, right corner of the net from the top of the 18-yard box. NIU had a pair of opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, but redshirt freshman Aryn Newsom stopped both chances and ISU took a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
"Anna's goal was a great goal and that early goal was something we have been looking for," Roff said. "It was important that we got to play with the lead at halftime."
In the second stanza, it was all Illinois State, as senior Jessica Carlson extended the Redbird lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute. Junior Kristin Cooley delivered a free kick service to an unmarked Carlson, who headed the ball into the upper, left corner of the net.
Cooley netted a goal of her own less than two minutes later, when her free kick sailed over the head of NIU keeper Meaghan Bennett and inside the back post to give Illinois State a 3-0 lead.
Tejada scored in her fourth-straight game by collecting a loose ball and finding the back of the net in the 54th minute for her fifth tally of the season. Tejada recorded her fourth point of the match in the 60th minute, when Carlson found the back of the net for the second time for the final goal of the contest. Tejada has now recorded multiple points in each of her first four collegiate games and leads ISU with 14 points, five goals and four assists.
"Jess and Rachel both have great attacking personalities and are great technical players," Roff said. "It's nice to see a veteran and a young player develop some chemistry after only being together for a month."
The Redbird defense was just as impressive in the second half as the offense, limiting Northern Illinois to a single shot. Senior Natalie McCabe and a host of ISU defenders kept the Huskies out of the attacking zone for nearly the entire final 45 minutes to record the shutout.
"Natalie was absolutely tremendous for us today," Roff said. "There were times when she was with an entirely different backfield and she was a rock back there. She kept us organized back there and she also did a great job of distributing the ball. I thought she made some great decisions with the ball to kick start our attack and played an excellent game for us."
For the game, ISU outshot Northern Illinois, 18-5, and took nine corners to the Huskies two. Newsom earned the win in goal to improve to 1-1 on the season and the four second-half goals raised Illinois State's second-half goal total to 12 this season.
The Redbirds will finish the weekend Sunday in Chicago, when they face another in-state rival in DePaul. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Wish Field.
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