Senior goalkeeper Haley Smith collected her 24th career shutout in Wednesday night's 3-0 victory over conference foe Indiana State to become the program record holder in all-time shutouts. Sarah LaFayette, Hannah Mueller and Natalie Vaughn-Low all tallied goals in the shutout, with LaFayette and Megan McEachern being credited with an assist each.
The win improves Illinois State to 11-4 on the season and the Redbirds are one of just two schools in the Missouri Valley Conference with a perfect conference record at 4-0 this season.
ISU's nine-game winning streak ties the program record for longest streak, which occurred in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. This was the fifth straight shutout for the 'Birds, a program-record for the most consecutive shutouts.
"Tonight was a monumental game for our team and program," said head coach Brad Silvey. "First, the win and the collective team effort to battle on the road against a very determined Indiana State team was inspired soccer. Sarah LaFayette's game-winning goal was from another planet! Then for this group to earn the consecutive shutout record and for Haley Smith to break the all-time shutout record was simply special. The records were earned tonight, but this is a culmination of work and effort over an extended period of time to tell a remarkable story. We will enjoy this for a short time as there is much more ahead for our team to fight for."
The Sycamores put up a good first half defensively, but the Redbirds eventually broke through with LaFayette's volley from distance in the 39th minute to put the 'Birds up 1-0 heading into halftime. It was the redshirt sophomore's third goal of the year and seventh of her career.
Illinois State nearly doubled their shots in the second half, taking 15 in the second period alone after recording eight before halftime.
The Redbirds secured the game with a pair of goals scored less than 30 seconds apart around the 70th minute. Mueller tallied her first goal of the season off a corner kick to begin onslaught, with Vaughn-Low drilling the final goal of the night from around 40 yards out. Vaughn-Low improves to five goals on the season and has accumulated 14 points in her nine appearances.Â
Smith stood strong in goal, posting five saves on the night and improving to 60 on the season. She currently sits at 321 career saves, 20 saves away from Becky Feldmann's program record 341 saves. Smith and McEachern were the only two Redbirds to play the full 90 minutes.
UP NEXT:
The Redbirds host the only other undefeated team in the conference, Loyola Chicago, on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Both teams have recorded five straight shutouts and will battle for first place in the MVC. As part of Illinois State's 'Tackle Cancer with Redbird Soccer' fundraising promotion, for each fan in attendance at Sunday's game, $1 will be donated directly to the Community Cancer Center. The Redbirds hope to break Adelaide Street Field's all-time attendance record of over 1,085 fans and donate over $1,000 to help make a difference in the Bloomington-Normal community. As always, admission to all regular season home soccer matches is FREE!
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