Illinois State soccer hits the road for an in-state matchup against Northwestern on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Martin Stadium. The match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Thursday's match will be the Redbirds' 13th all-time meeting against the Wildcats.
• Northwestern holds a 9-3 advantage in the series and has won five straight against ISU dating back to Sep. 8, 2016.
• Northwestern has a 1-2 record this season with a 1-0 win over Denver and losses against No. 11 Virginia and Syracuse.
• 42.5% of the Redbirds' 40 shot attempts this season have been on goal, compared to 25% of Northwestern's 28 total shot attempts.
• The Redbirds have 22 corner kicks on the season to Northwestern's 13.
• Northwestern junior Kennedy Roesch was named to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Watch List, an award honoring the National Player of the Year as determined by a vote of Division I head coaches.
QUICK KICKS
• The Redbirds are coming off a 1-1 draw against UT Martin on Sunday.
• With Madi Valenti's four saves in goal against UT Martin, she moved into fifth place in program history with 176 career saves.
• The Redbirds have started a season unbeaten through three games for the first time since 2014.
• Rylann Law is the first Redbird to score in consecutive games to start the season since Riley O'Brien scored in the first three games in 2021.
• Illinois State returns 22 players from the 2025 roster. Among the 22 returning Redbirds, seven logged over 1000 minutes across the 22 games played a year ago.
• In the offseason, third year head coach Raleigh DeRose made six additions to the Redbird roster, including two freshman and four transfers.
• Grace Petrie, an All-Freshman team selection in 2025, and Valenti, the reigning MVC Goalkeeper of the Year, both earned preseason All-MVC honors.
GRACE'S FIRST GOAL
Sophomore defender Grace Petrie tallied her first career goal against UT Martin. Petrie opened the scoring in the 24th minute, heading home a corner kick from Eve Gricius at the far post to give Illinois State an early 1-0 advantage.
UNBEATEN THROUGH THREE
With Illinois State's shutout win over Lindenwood on Thursday and draw against UT Martin on Sunday, the Redbirds have started a season unbeaten through three games for the first time since 2014.
TEJADA JERSEY RETIREMENT
Illinois State soccer legend Rachel Tejada will have her No. 14 jersey retired on Oct. 4 when the Redbirds host UNI, alongside ISU's annual Julie Heidecke/Alumni celebration.
• Tejada's No. 14 will be the second number in Illinois State soccer history to be retired, alongside the twelfth Redbird on the field, Heidecke's No. 13.
• The four-year letterwinner for the Redbirds is the only player in Missouri Valley Conference history to be named Conference Player of the Year four times.
• In her Redbird career, Tejada helped Illinois State earn three MVC regular-season championships and secure four straight MVC tournament titles.
• Tejada still holds the Redbird and MVC career records for goals (74), assists (42) and points (190).
