NORMAL, Ill. – Behind five goals on Thursday night, the Illinois State Redbirds (1-3-1) had its largest win over an opponent since the 2019 season as ISU toppled the Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-2-0) by a 5-0 score at Adelaide Street Field.
The last time ISU scored five or more goals was on September 8, 2022, when the Redbirds beat Lindenwood 5-1, while the last time Illinois State won by five or more goals was on September 28, 2019, when the Birds topped the Northern Iowa Panthers.
ISU started strong, using 16 shots in the first half to pepper the Leatherneck goal, finally reaching the back of the net in the 22nd minute when Erika Wells found Eve Gricius for her first goal of the season on a deep attempt off a corner kick, providing the eventual game-winning score in the contest. Four minutes later Chloe Cline reached the scoring column for her second goal of the 2025 season, as she headed a set-piece pass from Kaya Durkee past the diving Leatherneck goalkeeper to put the Redbirds up 2-0.
Durkee got her second assist of the night in the 39th minute when her corner kick into the box found the feet of sophomore Danica Key who found the inside of the net to put the hosts ahead 3-0. The score reached a 4-0 mark with just over a minute remaining in the first half as Elyse Deschryver used her left leg put the ball over the outreached jump from the Western Illinois keeper to send ISU into the halftime break with a 4-0 lead.
The two teams played a nearly-scoreless second half until an ISU centering pass ricocheted off a Western Illinois defender, and on the defender's attempt to clear put the ball into the back of her own net, as the own goal gave the game its 5-0 final score.
The Redbirds take back to the road on Sunday, August 31 when travels to Martin, Tennessee, to take on the UT Martin Skyhawks in a 2 p.m. kickoff.
