NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Soccer (1-0-1, 0-0-0 MVC) takes its unblemished record on the road Sunday at Illinois (2-0-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten). Kick off is set for 5 p.m. at Demirjian Park on Big Ten Plus.
LAST WEEK
The Redbirds are unbeaten through two games of a season for the first time since the 2018 campaign, after winning 2-1 over Green Bay and settling for a scoreless draw at Purdue Fort Wayne last week.
Sammi Cenek (44') and Chloe Cline (51') netted their first career goals as Illinois State won its season opener for the first time since 2014. The Redbirds erased a 1-0 deficit for the win to open the year.
Opportunities were limited Sunday at Purdue Fort Wayne as goalkeeper Madi Valenti made her first career start and notched her first career shutout.
ALL-TIME VS ILLINOIS
Thursday marks the 19th all-time meeting between Illinois State and Illinois in a series that Illinois leads by a 13-3-2 margin. The two sides didn't meet in the regular season last year, which marked the first time since the 2014 campaign that they didn't meet. They did however matchup in a preseason play, a 2-0 win for Illinois.
Illinois State last took down Illinois in 2017, a 2-0 win at Adelaide Street Field. The Redbirds have never beaten the Illini in Champaign.
VALLEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Ava Watson was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office Tuesday.
Watson started both matches and played all 90 minutes as the Redbirds surrendered just one goal, the fewest by any Valley team who played two games in the opening week of the season. Illinois State allowed 14 total shots in the two results, including just 4 shots on goal, a defensive effort that was led by Watson.
She is the first Redbird to earn Valley Defensive Player of the Week since 2019, when Haley Smith did so four times.
UNBEATEN BIRDS
The Redbirds are unbeaten through the first two games of a season for the first time since the 2018 campaign, when Illinois State tied Cal State Northridge 2-2 and beat Eastern Michigan 1-0.
Illinois State looks to be unbeaten through three games of a season for the first time since 2014, which is also the last time Illinois State won its season opener.
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