Illinois State (8-7-2, 3-2-0) defeated Missouri Valley Conference foe Indiana State (6-7-3, 0-4-1) by a 3-1 decision Wednesday night in Normal, Illinois. Sophomore Natalie Vaughn-Low, junior Kate Del Fava and freshman Shaina Dudas all netted goals for the 'Birds, helping them to their third conference win of the season. Illinois State now leads the all-time series with the Sycamores 21-4 and have won 14 of the last 15 meetings. Â
The Redbirds dominated possession in the first half, outshooting Indiana State 9-4 and having the advantage in corners 3-0. The Sycamores were unable to even get a shot off until senior Katie Wells recorded their first in the 21st minute.
Illinois State's first goal would be the result of a 34th minute corner kick in which redshirt sophomore Abby Basler sent a ball in to the far post. The ball was initially hit by a defender, but Vaughn-Low struck the deflection, sending it into the back of the net. It was Vaughn-Low's first goal of the season and second of her career. This is the second consecutive game a goal has been scored off a Basler corner, and the St. Louis native now has a team-high three assists.
Ten minutes later, Del Fava would add another goal for the Redbirds dribbling by two defenders and scoring from ten yards out. Del Fava leads the team in scoring this season with five goals.
Dudas rounded out Illinois State's scoring when she tallied the third goal of her 2018 campaign in the 60th minute. The freshman initially recorded a shot from close range that ricocheted off both the goal post and the Indiana State keeper, which she followed to slip in her own rebound. Dudas led the team with four shots on the night, three of which were on goal.
"Our ability to kind of spread out the field and attack from different facets and just to be dynamic in our attack is something we have always been good at," said head coach Brad Silvey. "We went through a bit of a drought but I think we kind of found ourselves back in the driver's seat."
The Sycamores mounted a comeback late in the game, but failed to overcome the three-goal deficit. Indiana State's lone goal came as a result of a free kick in the box that Wells took, striking it above Illinois State's wall into the upper right corner. With that goal, Wells set the single-season scoring record for Indiana State and currently leads the MVC with ten goals in her senior campaign.
Junior goalkeeper Haley Smith recorded nine saves on the night, matching her season-high, with all but one occurring in the second half. Both the Redbirds and the Sycamores finished the match with 17 shots and 10 shots on goal.
With Wednesday's win, Illinois State moves into third place in the MVC standings with a conference record of 3-2-0. The Redbirds hold an impressive 5-1-1 home record this season at Adelaide Street Field.
UP NEXT: Illinois State travels to Evansville this weekend to take on the Purple Aces. Kickoff at McCutchan Stadium is set for 1 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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