NORMAL, Ill. – Fifth-year senior Ashley Santos broke Haley Smith's career all-time minutes played record as the Illinois State women's soccer team fell, 2-0, to Loyola Chicago on a wet Wednesday evening at Adelaide Street Field.
Santos now has 7,201 career minutes played for the Redbirds (4-10-1 overall, 2-3-1 Missouri Valley Conference), surpassing Smith's 7,193. Santos also holds the program record for matches started and played.
The Ramblers (9-2-2 overall, 5-0-1 MVC) scored in the 38th and 73rd minutes in a match that saw redshirt junior Priya Gillan make seven saves, many of which had a high degree of difficulty.
Gillan made a pair of saves on close-range Rambler shots in the 17th minute before making a 36th-minute save on a Loyola free kick from 19 yards out.
Freshman Kasey Neidhardt's 37th-minute shot from 30 yards away was tipped over the bar by the Loyola keeper. Junior Allison Baker nearly recorded an equalizer just 30 seconds into the second half but her shot from 25 yards sailed just wide of the left post.
Gillan made another key save in the 58th minute to keep the score at 1-0.
The Ramblers were able to score off the rebound of a Gillan save in the 73rd minute to double their lead.
ISU pressured Loyola in the waning minutes of the match but were unable to find the net.
Illinois State was outshot, 22-8, but held a 7-3 advantage in corners, including a 5-0 mark in the second half.
Loyola extended its win streak against the Redbirds to six matches, but ISU still holds the series advantage with a 14-10 record.
The 'Birds play October 17 against Drake in their home finale at Adelaide Street Field.
QUOTE FROM FIFTH-YEAR HEAD COACH BRAD SILVEY
General: "I'm really proud of our effort, our focus, our determination. I really like how we competed. I really appreciated how we changed in the second half to make things a lot more competitive, in terms of the number of shots we were conceding and the number of corners that we earned for ourselves. In terms of what we're asking student-athletes to do and how we're asking them to perform, they did that. We were just on the wrong side of the result. If this is a performance that we can consistently produce on Sunday [at home against Drake], I really like our chances."
On Gillan: "I wish she didn't have to face as many shots as she has but she's been outstanding. She kept us in that game single-handedly at times. She was locked in, and I feel like she definitely did her part today. I'm really proud of her and everything that she left out on the field today."
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