NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State women's soccer celebrated Julie Heidecke Alumni Day and the jersey retirement of Redbird legend Rachel Tejada in dominant fashion Sunday, cruising to a 6-0 victory over UNI at Adelaide Street Field.

Prior to Sunday's match, Illinois State retired Tejada's No. 14 jersey, honoring one of the most decorated players in program history. The Redbirds followed the celebration with one of their most dominant offensive performances in recent history, scoring four goals in the first half and adding two more in the opening minutes of the second half. 

The six-goal performance marked Illinois State's highest offensive output since a 10-0 victory over Chicago State in 2016. The six-goal margin was also the largest by the Redbirds against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent since a 9-2 victory over Indiana State on Oct. 14, 2012.

The victory moved Illinois State to 8-1-3 overall and 3-0 in MVC play, while extending the Redbirds' home unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive matches. Illinois State is now 6-0-7 at home dating back to last season, tying for the third-longest home unbeaten streak in program history.

The Redbirds wasted no time finding the back of the net, as Mikayla Carkhuff scored just 57 seconds into the match. The goal marked the third-fastest goal in program history and the fastest since Bethany Russ scored 43 seconds into a match against Drake in 2007.

Rylann Law doubled the lead in the 23rd minute, scoring in the bottom right corner off her right foot following an assist from Kaya Durkee. Maggie Dowling added another in the 41st minute, with Ava Watson providing the assist, before Watson scored just 88 seconds later off a feed from Erika Wells to give Illinois State a 4-0 advantage at halftime.

The four-goal first half marked the first time Illinois State had scored four goals in a half since a 5-0 victory over Western Illinois last season. Four different Redbirds also scored in that half.

Watson's goal moved her to five goals on the season, making her the first Redbird to reach that mark since Haley Glover scored six goals in 2023.

Illinois State continued its offensive attack early in the second half, scoring twice in a span of just 50 seconds. Law completed her brace at 58:02, with Sammi Cenek and Dowling providing the assists. Just 50 seconds later, Dowling found the back of the net for the second time in the match, with Law earning the assist. The 50-second span between goals ranks as the 10th-fastest consecutive goals in program history.

The braces by Dowling and Law marked the first time two Redbirds have recorded multiple goals in the same match since Kate Del Fava and Natalie Vaughn-Low each recorded a brace against Missouri State on Nov. 8, 2019.

The Redbirds finished with a 26-7 advantage in shots, putting 17 of their 26 attempts on goal. Illinois State also held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks and recorded six assists in the victory.

The six assists marked the first time the Redbirds had recorded five or more assists in a match since Sept. 10, 2023, against Western Illinois.

In goal, Madi Valenti made two saves en route to her third straight shutout, her sixth this season and the 23rd of her career. The performance moved Valenti into a tie for second in program history and into a tie for seventh in MVC history in career shutouts.

UP NEXT

Illinois State returns to action on Saturday against Southern Illinois. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex in Carbondale, Illinois.