NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Valparaiso at home on Wednesday night to fall to 4-6 on the year and 4-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
A Valpo goal in the 53rd minute was the difference, as sophomore midfielder Natalie Graf sent a header into the bottom left corner of the goal off a free kick by freshman Kelsie James. The Redbirds fought back, taking a 16-4 advantage in shots in the second half, but could not find the equalizer. ISU put four shots on target in the final 10 minutes, including a flurry of activity in front of the goal off of a pair of Redbird corner kicks in the final 60 seconds, but remained unsuccessful in evening the score.
ISU outshot Valparaiso on the day, 23-11, and 9-5 in shots on goal. The Redbirds also had a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Senior forward Sarah LaFayette put three of her team-high four shots on goal with freshman defender Arianna Lombardi placing both of her shots on the day on frame.
Freshman goalkeeper Daniela Grgas made four saves in the loss. Grgas, Lombardi, Ashlee Bakaitis, Michaela Kirschten, Abby Basler and Alissa Ramsden all played the full 90 minutes for the Redbirds.
NEXT:
The Redbirds are the No. 4 seed in the MVC Tournament and will host No. 5 UNI at Adelaide Street Field on Sunday, April 11 at 5 p.m. CT for a quarterfinal match.
Illinois State, Valparaiso and UNI finished in a three-way tie for third in the conference standings with 12 points (1.50 points per match played). Illinois State, UNI and Valparaiso had identical 1-1 records against the pool of the three tied teams, but Valparaiso earned the No. 3 seed based on its win against second-place Indiana State (Illinois State and UNI both lost to Indiana State). Illinois State earned the No. 4 seed as the Redbirds defeated UNI in the team's regular-season matchup, giving UNI the No. 5 seed and a rematch against ISU in Normal, Ill., this Sunday at 5 p.m. CT (The Valley on ESPN). Illinois State won the regular-season matchup against UNI, 2-0, on March 25.
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