NORMAL, Ill. – Redshirt junior Priya Gillan rejected a Toledo penalty kick with just 1:09 left in regulation, but the Illinois State women's soccer team was blanked, 1-0, after the Rockets scored 3:01 into overtime in a wild finish at Adelaide Street Field on Sunday afternoon.
Gillan was whistled for a foul in the box in the 89th-minute after colliding with a Toledo player while in pursuit of the ball. She responded with an incredible diving save on the penalty kick to her left. However, the ball stayed in play, but the Redbird defenders closed quickly, forcing the ball out off a Rocket (5-1-2 overall) player for a goal kick and in turn, sending the match to overtime. The ISU bench received a pair of yellow cards following the completion of regulation.
Dating back to the spring 2021 season, Gillan has now saved four-straight penalty kicks.
The Redbirds (2-8 overall, 0-1 MVC), which concluded their non-conference schedule with the match, had just 10 players in the final sequence after freshman Sydney Smith was given her second yellow card at the 92:25 mark. Smith received her first yellow card during halftime.
Ultimately, Toledo's golden goal came from 20 yards out at the 93:01 mark.
ISU had difficulty generating meaningful chances throughout the match but a long-range attempt from junior Allison Baker in the 64th-minute grazed off the cross bar.
Toledo held just an 11-10 advantage in shots, but Illinois State did not generate a shot on goal.
The Redbirds lost to Toledo for the first time in program history (now 2-1) in their first matchup in Normal in series history. ISU falls to both 0-5 in one-goal games and home matches in fall 2021. The 'Birds are 0-3 in overtime this season.
The match was Redbird Soccer's first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion contest. Orange ribbons were distributed as part of the team's initiative to create awareness for the Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States who endured Residential Schools and Native American Boarding Schools. The student-athletes of the soccer program identified this cause to raise awareness after 1,000 unmarked graves were found at these schools earlier this summer.
QUOTE FROM FIFTH-YEAR HEAD COACH BRAD SILVEY
General Thoughts: "We challenged our team to do a better job of playing together and staying unified and connected on the field. In terms of those expectations, I really liked how we played. I thought we had a hard time generating a consistent attack today, which kind of knocked us off our game...[our defense] was gritty and strong. We managed how Toledo wanted to attack...I thought we did a good job of forcing them to have to play a little bit different against us and that's a credit to our team and how they executed today."
On Gillan: "Really impressed with Priya [Gillan]. The game's on the line with a minute left--credit to Priya for stepping up big-time in that moment."
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