NORMAL, Ill. – No. 4 Illinois State soccer is set to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the No.1 seed Drake in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Thursday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Redbirds advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament after a 2-1 overtime victory over the No. 5 seed Southern Illinois. Sophomore Chloe Cline secured her first collegiate brace in the contest with goals in the 59th and 93rd minutes. Cline became the first player since former Redbird Kate Del Fava to record a postseason brace. Del Fava tallied two goals in a 4-3 victory over Missouri State in the first round of the MVC tournament in 2019.
Thursday's matchup marks the 29th meeting all-time between the two programs as the Redbirds hold a 13-12-3 advantage in the series. Illinois State prevailed in a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs this season at Adelaide Street Field. Senior Jade Rehberger scored the winning goal late in the contest to secure the Redbirds' victory. Illinois State's win marked the Redbirds' first win in the series since 2019. In Des Moines, Illinois State holds an 8-7-2 record and looks to capture its first win in the series away from home since 2016.
The Bulldogs host Illinois State after securing the MVC regular-season title with back-to-back victories over Evansville and Southern Illinois to close out conference play. With the title, Drake earned a first-round bye and a host bid for the second round.
Drake is led by Lindsey Horner, who enters her 18th season as head coach of the Bulldogs. Under Horner, the Bulldogs have earned four regular-season titles and reached three MVC Championship Games.
Senior forward Eve Blakely leads the Bulldogs with eight goals this season, which is the second most in the Missouri Valley Conference. Blakely earned an All-MVC First Team selection as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
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