NORMAL, Ill. – No. 4 Illinois State advances to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 2-1 overtime victory over Southern Illinois Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Street Field.
Sophomore Chloe Cline tallied her first career brace with goals in the 59th and the game-winner in the 93rd minute. Cline becomes the first Redbird since Kate Del Fava in 2019 to secure a brace in an MVC tournament contest. Del Fava's brace came in Illinois State's last overtime victory in the conference tournament.
In the opening minutes of the contest, it was a fierce battle between the two squads as each team recorded four shots in the first 25 minutes of the game. Moments later, Southern Illinois capitalized on a rebound from a shot that deflected off the woodwork to take a 1-0 advantage in the 35th minute and would maintain the lead entering the halftime break.
Despite trailing, the Redbirds maintained their pressure to begin the second half. In the 59th minute, Illinois State capitalized on a corner kick as Sophomore Danica Key's shot was blocked, Cline delivered her first goal of the contest, scoring on the rebound to even the score at 1-1. Key was awarded the assist on the goal, which is the first of her career.
In the moments after the goal, Southern Illinois was given a red card, giving Illinois State an 11-10 player advantage for the remainder of the contest. With the advantage, the Redbirds maintained their pressure on the attacking end by outshooting the Salukis 7-1 in the closing moments of regular time, including a narrow miss from Junior Aniya Seymore in the 90th minute. Entering overtime, Illinois State outpaced Southern Illinois in shots with an 11-1 advantage in the second half.
As the whistle began the overtime period, the Redbirds continued to press and won a corner in just the third minute of overtime. Sophomore Kaya Durkee delivered a ball to the far post that was deflected to the near post, where Cline headed in the game-winning goal to secure the Redbirds' 2-1 victory.
With the win, Illinois State remains unbeaten at Adelaide Street Field in conference play, marking the first time since 2016 that the Redbirds accomplished the feat.
The Redbirds tallied 18 shots in the game, which is the most this season since August 31 in a 1-0 win over UT Martin and the third most in 2025.
Redshirt Sophomore Madi Valenti tallied three saves in the game and now sits sixth all-time in program history with 156 career saves. Valenti has recorded 76 saves this campaign, which ties for the 10th most in a season for a Redbird goalkeeper. Valenti becomes the first goalkeeper since Haley Smith (2016-19) to earn two top-10 individual save totals in a season.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds will head to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on No.1 seed Drake in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:05 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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