Illinois State (9-8-2, 4-3-0) dropped a 3-1 decision to UNI (9-7-2, 4-3-0) Thursday evening in the regular-season finale for both squads. Senior Kiley Czerwinski scored the lone goal for the Redbirds in the match that saw the Redbirds drop from third to fourth in Missouri Valley Conference standings.
All three of UNI's goals were the result of set pieces, with the first coming from a corner kick and the second and third stemming from long services on free kicks. Despite the score, Illinois State outshot the Panthers on the night 22-7 and 11-5 in shots on goal. UNI senior goalkeeper Jami Reichenberger had a stellar night, making 10 saves between the sticks to prevent a comeback from the Redbirds.
"I think within the run of play, we saw the better of it," said head coach Brad Silvey. "We saw the better possession and obviously created a lot more scoring opportunities and chances that we just didn't do well with tonight. We quickly need to address some of these things but also quickly put it behind us as we look ahead to the tournament."
In the 32nd minute, Panther senior Hannah McDevitt put a shot on goal from distance that Haley Smith blocked, only for junior Jamie Althiser to knock in the rebound for her third goal of the season and give UNI a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers maintained that lead until 10 minutes into the second half, when redshirt sophomore Abby Basler tipped a ball right in front of the box to Czerwinski, who collected it and placed it to the far post. Czerwinski's second goal of the season knotted the score 1-1, with Basler improving to a team-high four assists this season.
A 60th minute free kick would give the Panthers the lead once again, as senior Julianne Trizzino sent in a long service on a free kick that junior Sydney Hayden redirected into Illinois State's goal. Hayden now leads UNI with six goals on the season.
UNI's final goal was due to an own goal in the 73rd minute to cap off the scoring for the match. Illinois State holds the lead in the all-time series with the Panthers, 14-6, but UNI has now defeated the Redbirds in the each of their last three meetings.
"At the end of the day, we did create a lot of opportunities and chances against a solid, defensive, organized UNI team and those are some positive things we can take away from the contest," said Silvey.
UP NEXT: No. 4 Illinois State will host No. 5 Missouri State (8-8-2, 2-3-2) in the opening round of the MVC Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m. Earlier this season, the Redbirds defeated the Bears 2-1 at home in their conference opener.
The winner will advance to take on No. 1 Loyola in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2 in Chicago.
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