Redbirds Kick Off DeRose Era with Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne this Week

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State kicks off its 29th season of women's soccer this week with a home contest vs Green Bay Thursday on Adelaide Street field and a road trip to Purdue Fort Wayne Sunday. Kickoff is set for 2 PM Thursday at Adelaide Street Field on ESPN+ and Noon Sunday in Fort Wayne on ESPN+. 

QUICK KICKS 

• Raleigh DeRose opens her first season as the head coach of Illinois State. She comes to Normal after eight seasons on staff at Brown, where she helped the Bears to three Ivy League championships, four NCAA Tournaments, four undefeated regular seasons, and four finishes inside the top 50 of the national RPI rankings. 

•  Illinois State standout Ava Watson returns after she was named to the All-MVC Freshman team during her rookie campaign last year. Watson started and played in all 16 Redbird matches in the 2023 season, while racking up 1,213 minutes on the pitch. The freshman earned three points on the year and turned in a team-high three assists. 

•  The Redbirds welcomed 17 new players to the 2024 squad, which includes a freshman class of 13 players. Transfers Abby Hall (Seton Hall), Bella Hanisch (DePaul) and Ellie Arnold (USC Upstate) are expected to be strong contributors this fall.  

• Illinois State and Green Bay are set to meet for the first time since 2016, while the Redbirds and Mastodons will match up for the first time since the 2013 campaign. 

A NEW ERA 

Thursday marks Raleigh DeRose's first game in her inaugural season as the head coach of Illinois State. It also marks the beginning of her first season as a collegiate head coach. DeRose recently finished her eighth season with the Brown soccer staff and third as an associate head coach during the 2023-24 season.  

During her time at Brown, the Bears won three Ivy League championships, competed in four NCAA Tournaments, had four undefeated regular seasons, and finished in the top 50 in the national RPI rankings for four-consecutive years. She was also selected to the 30 Under 30 Program by the United Soccer Coaches for the 2016-17 course year.  

She is the seventh head coach in program history and the third female coach to lead the Redbirds.  

DeRose comes from a soccer family. Her father, Jim, is the winningest head coach in Bradley history and recently announced his retirement after 28 years at the helm of the program. Her brother, J.R., was a standout goalkeeper at Mercer before moving into the coaching ranks at Bradley, North Carolina and Mercer. 

SERIES HISTORY 

Illinois State and Green Bay are set to meet for the first time since 2016 in an all-time series that Illinois State leads by an 11-3-0 margin. The Redbirds have won the last four meetings in the series and haven't lost to the Phoenix at home since the 1997 campaign.  

Illinois State won 2-0 in the most recent meeting behind goals from former MVC Player of the Year honorees Kate Del Fava (21') and Lauren Koehl (57'). 

The Redbirds are unbeaten all-time against the Mastadons (4-0-0). The two sides met in exhibition play last season, where Illinois State won 3-2, however they have not met in the regular season since 2013. Sunday marks just the second time Illinois State has traveled to Fort Wayne to take on the Mastadons, with the other meeting coming in 2006.  

Illinois State has outscored Purdue Fort Wayne 14-2 in the all-time series. 

FOREIGN INFLUENCE 

The Redbirds have a wealth of international influence on the roster as, Ellie Arnold (England), Izzy Cameron (Canada), Bella Hanisch (Canada) and Cyerra Hibbert (Canada) bring foreign flare.  

It marks just the seventh time in program history and the first time since 2008 that Illinois State has featured 4+ international players on its roster. The Redbirds had 4+ international player on each roster from 2002 to 2008, topping out at 6 in 2005, all of whom were all Canadians.  

Arnold is just the third Redbird in program history who is not from North America. She joins Indianna Asimus (2021, Australia) and Ellen Dooremont (2000, Belgium) on that list. 

REDBIRD RETURNERS 

• Sophomore Ava Watson, an All-MVC Freshman team selection a year ago, highlights the returning group for Illinois State this year. She started all 16 games in 2023 and led the Redbirds with 3 assists. 

• In net, Audrey Brown has started 23 of her 24 appearances over the last two seasons. She started 15 games last year and recorded her first-career shutout Sept. 7 vs Eastern Illinois.  

• Jade Rehberger has started all but two games for Illinois State over the last two seasons. She started 15 games last season, which followed up her MVC All-Freshman team performance in 2022.  

• Sammi Cenek returns to the lineup after missing most of the 2023 campaign due to injury. She had 18 appearances during her rookie campaign in 2022, made six starts and tallied two assists. 

FRESH FACES 

Illinois State welcomes 17 new additions to the 2024 roster, which is a mix of 13 freshmen and 4 transfers.  

It is the most newcomers of any team in the Valley this season. Illinois State's 13 freshmen is also leads all MVC teams. Abby Hall (Seton Hall), Ellie Arnold (USC Upstate), Bella Hanisch (DePaul) and Bekah Nielsen (Lewis) all transferred in for the Redbirds this fall. 

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