The Illinois State soccer team will face off with nearby Big Ten opponent Illinois on Sunday evening in their annual Pack the Pitch match. Kickoff with the Illini is set for 6 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field.
Sunday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also follow along with live stats or on Twitter (@Redbird_Soccer) for in-game updates.
Illinois – What You Need to Know
The Fighting Illini continue a four-game road stretch at Illinois State on Sunday, having started the season 3-1. Last weekend, Illinois upset No. 22 Pepperdine before falling 3-0 to San Francisco in a neutral-site game.
The 2019 squad has scored nine goals this season by six different players. Hope Breslin, Maggie Hillman, Arianna Veland have all tallied two goals each. Sophomore Makena Silber leads the Illini with 12 shots in four games. Junior goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham returns in goal for Illinois, ranking seventh all-time in program history with 193 career saves.
Redbirds vs. Fighting Illini
Illinois leads the all-time series with the Redbirds, 10-3-2, defeating ISU 1-0 in their last meeting in Urbana-Champaign last year.
Last Time Out
ISU defeated NIU 3-0 in the home opener at Adelaide Street Field on Friday. Senior Kate Del Fava continued her impressive scoring streak, burying two goals and assisting on the third. Brittany Paganucci scored and added an assist for the Redbirds, opening her 2019 scoring account.
Del Fava now has seven goals in the first five games of play, with five of them occurring in the last two games. She took a team-high nine shots in tonight's match, putting six of them on goal.
23 Redbirds saw action in Friday night's victory, with seniors Haley Smith and Megan McEachern going the full 90 minutes. Smith made two saves in goal off of seven shots faced to preserve the shutout.
Promotions
Help the Redbird soccer team break the all-time attendance record and "Pack the Pitch" for Sunday's match versus in-state rival Illinois. The current attendance record of 1,085 fans at Adelaide Street Field was set in August 2012 during a double overtime 1-1 draw also against the Fighting Illini.
The first 100 students in attendance will receive a free t-shirt, courtesy of ISU Athletics' Shirtember promotion. Students must have a student ID with them to claim their t-shirt.
The Sunday Funday Pregame Tailgate will begin at 4 p.m. and is open to all fans to join in on the festivities. There will be music, food while supplies last, and many more activities.
The Illinois State Big Red Marching Machine Drumline will be in attendance and performing throughout the match.
ISU's most popular concession item, $7 walking tacos, will be the special for Sunday's game.
For all latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
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.
