Illinois State soccer looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season when the Redbirds host Saint Louis on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field. The match will be streamed on ESPN+. Admission is free for all fans.
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• Sunday's match will be the Redbirds' ninth all-time meeting with the Billikens.
• Saint Louis holds a 4-2-2 advantage in the series and has won three of the last four against ISU.
• The Redbirds' last victory against the Billikens came in a 4-1 win at home on Sep. 17, 2013.
• Saint Louis has a 3-1-1 record this season with wins over Lindenwood, Missouri and Indiana.
• 38.2% of the Redbirds' 55 shot attempts this season have been on goal, compared to 56.3% of the Billikens 55 total shot attempts.
• The Billikens have made the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last eight years, along with being both A-10 Tournament and regular season champions in six of the last eight seasons.
QUICK KICKS
• The Redbirds are coming off their first loss of the season, falling to Loyola Chicago 2-0 on Sunday.
• Last Thursday, the Redbirds earned a 1-1 draw with Northwestern of the Big Ten.
• The draw with the Wildcats marks the Redbirds' first tie or win against a Power Four opponent since a 1-0 shutout over Pittsburgh on Sep. 3, 2017.
• The Redbirds started the season unbeaten through four games for the first time since 2012.
• With Madi Valenti's four saves in goal against UT Martin, she moved into fifth place in program history with 176 career saves.
• 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.
GARY'S FORMER SQUAD
Illinois State senior defender Jordan Gary will reunite with her former team on Thursday when the Redbirds host Saint Louis. After spending her first three collegiate seasons with the Billikens, Gary entered the transfer portal and found home in Bloomington-Normal. Gary played in 61 total games at SLU while starting five matches last season and helping the Billikens register a 0.90 GAA and 11 shutouts.
POINT AGAINST A POWER OPPONENT
Illinois State's 1-1 draw with Northwestern marks the Redbirds' first tie or win against a Power Four opponent since a 1-0 shutout over Pittsburgh on Sep. 3, 2017. It is the first tie or win against a Big Ten foe since the Redbirds
shutout Illinois 1-0 on Aug. 27, 2017.
UNBEATEN THROUGH FOUR
With Illinois State's 1-1 draw with Northwestern last Thursday, the Redbirds improved to 2-0-2, starting a season unbeaten through four games for the first time since 2012.
ROWANN'S FIRST AS A REDBIRD
The Wildcats opened the scoring in the 39th minute on Thursday, but Illinois State continued to battle and found its equalizer in the 73rd minute. Ava Watson sent a ball in from near the sideline to Eve Gricius, who played it to sophomore transfer Rowann Law. Law finished with her left foot into the bottom center of the net to tie the game and record her first goal as a Redbird.
• She now has two goals in her career, scoring one last season as a freshman for Missouri State, which also came against a Big Ten opponent in Nebraska.
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