Illinois State (10-8-2, 4-3-0) edged past Missouri State (8-9-2, 2-3-2) in a 1-0 shutout Sunday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Soccer Championship. Redshirt sophomore Abby Basler scored the game winning goal in the 76th minute to lift the Redbirds to victory and defeat the Bears for the second time this season. Sunday's win was Illinois State's first playoff win under head coach Brad Silvey.
"It's a great feeling, obviously," said Silvey. "Winning at home in our final game on Adelaide, our final game at home for our seniors – there's just a lot that we were playing for tonight."
The first half was a hard-fought defensive battle in 30 mph winds at Adelaide Street Field, both teams struggling to convert their shots to goals. Missouri State held a slight 8-7 advantage in shots after 45 minutes while Illinois State earned three corner kicks to Missouri State's none.
The Redbirds came out of halftime with renewed vigor, outshooting Missouri State 13-4 in the second half.
In the 76th minute, sophomore Natalie Vaughn-Low broke away from the defense to put a shot on goal and force a save from the keeper. Freshman Shaina Dudas was the first to the rebound, taking a shot of her own, that was blocked by a defender. Basler pounced on the deflected shot, striking it to the upper left corner of the goal. Basler, the reigning MVC Offensive Player of the Week, improves to a team-high five goals this season, sharing the lead with junior Kate Del Fava. Basler's go-ahead goal is the third game winning goal she has tallied this season.
In goal, junior goalkeeper Haley Smith tallied six saves on the day and posted her third shutout of the season. Smith sits in third (255 saves) in Illinois State's all-time saves record and is tied for third (17 shutouts) in the all-time shutouts category.
Smith along with Del Fava, sophomore Ashley Santos, sophomore Alissa Ramsden, redshirt sophomore Tate Barney and junior Megan McEachern all went the full 90 minutes in the Redbird victory.
"Really excited for the team. Their performance today was top-notch. We're going to enjoy this for a short amount of time, and then quickly get refocused and prepped for Loyola," said Silvey.
UP NEXT: Illinois State travels to Chicago this weekend to take on top-ranked Loyola in the semifinals of the MVC Soccer Championship. Kickoff at Loyola Soccer Park is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2. Earlier this season, the 'Birds upset Loyola 3-2 in overtime in Chicago. Â
For all the latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
