CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Illinois State soccer team got the win in their final road game of the regular season on Saturday night, defeating Southern Illinois, 3-0, at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex. The Redbirds move to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play while the Salukis drop to 0-5-3 and 0-4-3 in league games.
The 'Birds put the pressure on the Salukis from the get-go, firing five shots in the first 10 minutes, two of which were placed on goal. Senior Sarah LaFayette put ISU on the board in the 16th minute, finding the back of the net for the second time this season. Junior Shaina Dudas was credited with the assist.
Dudas tallied her own goal at the 32:45 mark, as the forward has now scored in back-to-back matches. Redshirt senior Abby Basler picked up her third assist of the year.
Junior Riley O'Brien netted her second goal of the year off a pass from freshman Ashlee Bakaitis in the 50th minute to bring ISU to the final, 3-0 scoreline.
Freshman goalkeeper Daniela Grgas made one save off of seven shots faced in her first career start between the sticks. Grgas, Basler, Ashley Santos, Michaela Kirschten and Alissa Ramsden all went the full 90 minutes in the shutout.
ISU outshot SIU, 18-7, and 10-1 in shots on goal. Southern Illinois goalkeeper Maddy Alaluf had seven saves for the Salukis.
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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