NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's soccer team was topped by Utah, 1-0, on Thursday evening at Adelaide Street Field.
The Utes (3-2 overall) struck first on a 20th-minute header in a competitive contest.
ISU (1-4 overall) was led by a solid effort from redshirt junior Priya Gillan, who made five saves.
The Redbird offense was led by junior Allison Baker's and a shot on goal by freshman Kasey Neidhardt, who made her first collegiate start.
Illinois State generated several chances throughout the match but were only able to put one shot on-frame.
Utah outshoot ISU by a 15-8 margin and held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The contest marked the second time the 'Birds have hosted a PAC-12 school (Oregon in 2007).
Illinois State is scheduled to face mid-major power Milwaukee on the road on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT.
QUOTE FROM FIFTH-YEAR HEAD COACH BRAD SILVEY
"[Coming into the contest], we wanted to develop consistency from one game to the next, we wanted to compete for a full 90, and I wanted them to work. In terms of what we wanted to accomplish in those three things, I couldn't be any more proud of our team. They absolutely hit every one of those points...Our team executed, they did what we coached them and asked them to do. The game had opportunities for us to level things out there in the second half--we created good moments, good opportunities, we created chances within our press...I'm just really proud of how they performed today."
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