A tenth-minute goal proved to be the difference as Illinois State (2-3-2) fell to the Wisconsin Badgers (5-1) in Madison, Wisconsin on Thursday night, 1-0. Junior Haley Smith had five saves for the Redbirds in goal.
Wisconsin took the lead at 9:48 when sophomore Lauren Rice sent in a cross on a corner kick that Grace Douglas knocked in amidst the chaos for her first goal of the season. Junior Dani Rhodes was also credited with an assist.
Goalkeeper Haley Smith had a shining moment in the 44th minute when she made a phenomenal save on a Peyton Wesley penalty kick. Wesley aimed a rocket to the lower left corner of the goal that Smith dove and punched out. Smith has a total of 35 saves this season and 192 career saves.
After being outshot 9-1 in the first half, the Redbirds fought back in the second half to take five shots while limiting the Badgers to six. Junior Abby Basler led the team with three shots, two on goal. Kate Del Fava and Natalie Vaughn-Low also tallied shots on goal for Illinois State.
UP NEXT: Illinois State faces another Big Ten Conference opponent, Illinois (4-2), on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
For all the latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook).
