NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's soccer team (3-4-2) defeated the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks (0-7-0) 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field.
"It was an interesting game," said head coach Brad Silvey. "I thought we came out a little sluggish in the first half and we did our best to try to light a fire and were able to notch one. At the end of the day, the girls needed a result and they dug in and found a way. For that I am proud of them."
The Redbirds opened the match outshooting the Redhawks 10-5 in the first half. The match went scoreless into halftime. At the 50-minute mark freshman Natalie Vaughn-Low broke away from two defenders and was able to play the slot to senior Angel Krell on the outside. Krell then sent the ball to the far post upper-90 for what would be the game-winning goal for the Redbirds.
"What a great individual effort from Natalie and what a finish by Angel," said Silvey. "It was awesome to see those two combine to notch one in. We've been in a little bit of a drought so it was good to get a goal."
ISU continued their offensive dominance throughout the second half, outshooting the Redhawks 19-13 on the match and 10-5 in shots on goal. Sophomore Haley Smith tallied five saves between the pipes to earn her third shutout of the season.
"From there it just came down to hard work and grit. Everyone did enough to survive," continued Silvey. "Our ability to be able to close out a game, to be able to manage a game, to finish a game after going up on a goal, is something we need to work on moving forward. The conference has been performing much better in nonconference games. We have to make sure we are as prepared as possible when conference play starts Saturday."
Fans can catch the Redbirds back in action next Saturday, September 23 when they open conference play on the road against Northern Iowa. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
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