The Illinois State women's soccer team (7-7-2, 2-2-0) edged Loyola (6-6-1, 3-1-0) in a 3-2 overtime thriller Saturday night in Chicago. Redshirt sophomore Abby Basler, freshman Logan Ziegler and junior Mikayla Unger all netted goals for the Redbirds, with Unger scoring the golden goal after regulation to give Illinois State its second Missouri Valley Conference win.
The Redbirds now lead the all-time series with the Ramblers 14-4-0 and have won eight of their last nine meetings. Loyola, who had been previously undefeated in MVC conference play, now falls to 3-1 in conference while Illinois State moves to 2-2.
"Incredibly proud of our collective effort and commitment today, highlighted with a wonder-strike from Mikayla," said head coach Brad Silvey. "Obviously happy to see our group get back on track with netting a few goals, especially against such an impressive Loyola team. We weathered and absorbed pressure when necessary and did well with the opportunities we created on the attack – we had to show up on both sides of the ball tonight if we wanted to earn the result. Ultimately it was a hard-fought game that our group was able to dig-in and get the job done."
The Redbirds applied pressure on Loyola's defense right from kickoff, with junior Kate Del Fava and freshman Shaina Dudas both recording shots on goal in the first five minutes. The teams remained deadlocked until halftime, despite Loyola outshooting the Redbirds 9-5.
Just after the second half, Loyola opened the scoring as sophomore Jenna Ross netted her first career goal, directing a low cross from senior Madison Kimball into the back of the net from inside the six.
The Ramblers held the lead for only three minutes, as Basler would collect a pass from freshman Hannah Mueller to chip past the keeper and even the score, 1-1, in the 53rd minute. Mueller's first career assist came on Basler's second goal of the season and seventh of her career.
Illinois State then took the lead in the 73rd minute, on a chaotic corner kick. Basler sent in a phenomenal ball that sophomore Alissa Ramsden redirected towards the goal, forcing a save from the goalkeeper. Ziegler was able to strike the rebound into the back of the net, putting the Redbirds up 2-1. It was Ziegler's second goal of the season and both Basler and Ramsden were credited with assists.
The match was far from over though, as three-time MVC Offensive Player of the Week Jenny Szczesny slipped a ball through in the 81st minute off a scramble in front of the box, scoring her eighth goal of the season for the Ramblers. The score was all tied up, 2-2, at the end of fulltime.
Unger scored the golden goal in the 93rd minute in exciting fashion, rocketing a shot from 30 yards out that hit the bottom of the crossbar and ricocheted into the goal. Freshman Riley O'Brien earned the assist on Unger's third goal of the season. Unger has a team-leading 12 career goals and 30 career points.
Although Illinois State was outshot 21-12, the Redbirds put eight of their shots on goal in comparison to Loyola's six.
Junior Haley Smith finished the night with four saves in goal. Smith, along with junior Emily Adelman, redshirt sophomore Tate Barney and sophomore Ashley Santos all went the full 93Â minutes.
UP NEXT: Illinois State will return home to host another MVC opponent in Indiana State on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Kickoff at Adelaide Street Field is for 6 p.m.
For all the latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook).
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