NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's soccer team is looking to snap a five-match skid as it is set to host Northwestern on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. The contest will mark the first time in program history that the Redbirds have played hosted to three Power Five schools after hosting the Big Ten's Illinois and PAC-12's Utah earlier in the season. The match will be on ESPN+.
WHEN: Thursday, September 9 at 6:00 p.m. CT
WHERE: Normal, Ill., Adelaide Street Field
OPPONENT: Illinois State (NW leads all-time series, which began in 1996, 6-3)
ESPN+ FEED: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=9eb3aa4f-75a6-4928-81f4-8d56ebfb6229
LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=355086
SERIES HISTORY
Northwestern leads the all-time series, 6-3, but the Redbirds hold a 2-1 advantage in Normal. Illinois State and Northwestern most recently met on 8/20/2017, a 3-0 loss for ISU in Normal. The 23rd-ranked Wildcats scored in the 54th, 78th, and 84th minutes en route to taking the match.
The Redbirds mostly recently hosted two B1G teams in 2017 (also NW and Illinois). The match against Northwestern will mark the third Power Five opponent the 'Birds have hosted in the fall 2021 season. Previously, ISU had never hosted three P5 schools in the same season.
LAST TIME OUT (AT MILWAUKEE)
Milwaukee scored in the 8th and 41st minutes en route to winning, 2-0. Redshirt junior Priya Gillan made a career-high nine saves, the most by a Redbird keeper since 10/17/2018 (Haley Smith, 9 vs Indiana St). Senior Logan Ziegler and junior Allison Baker both recorded three shot attempts while sophomore Arianna Lombardi and freshman Kasey Neidhardt each had two shot attempts.
THREE WITH TWO-PLUS
Senior Riley O'Brien is tied for third in the MVC in goals scored with three while fifth-year seniors Sarah LaFayette and Natalie Vaughn-Low are both tied for fifth with two goals scored apiece. Illinois State and Evansville are the only teams in the MVC that has three players with two or more goals scored.
After Northwestern, ISU is scheduled to travel to Northern Illinois for Sunday's 2:00 p.m. match.
For all latest on Illinois State soccer, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @Redbird_Soccer (Twitter, Facebook) and @RedbirdSoccer on Instagram.
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