Normal, Ill.-- The Illinois State women's soccer team made the trip to Earth City, Mo. to face the Saint Louis Billikens on Saturday night. The Billikens took the win over the 'Birds, 3-1, as Illinois State falls to 0-2 overall on the season. The match was the final non-conference match for the Redbirds on the season.
Saint Louis got out to an early lead, with junior Emily Groark netting the first goal of the game at the seven-minute mark. The Billikens put the pressure on the Redbird defense in the first half, firing eight shots, putting four on goal, and attempting five corner kicks. The Billikens capitalized on the shot opportunities with sophomore Anna Walsh's goal at the 42 minute mark to put the SLU lead at 2-0.
But the Redbirds fought back, with less than a minute left in the first half redshirt senior Abby Basler fired a shot from the top of the box that found the back right corner of the goal. Freshman Ashlee Bakaitis had the assist on the play, the first point of her Redbird career. Into the half Illinois State trailed 2-1. Sophomore Katharine Ashley led the Redbirds, firing 2 shots in the half.
The second half became a fast-paced match, with both the Redbirds and the Billikens finding themselves with scoring opportunities. Neither team managed to find the back of the net until the 71-minute mark when the Billikens added to their lead. Sophomore Abbie Miller had the goal that added to the SLU lead, making it a 3-1 game and lifting SLU over the Redbirds.
The Redbirds had seven starters log the full 90 minutes in the match, including redshirt sophomore Priya Gillan who started in goal.
Illinois State looks to rebound as the head into Missouri Valley Conference play. The 'Birds next match will be on Saturday, February 27 at 5 p.m. on the road against Evansville.
For all latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook).
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