Illinois State women defeat Drake
October 27, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. — After two early first-half goals by Jessica Carlson and Alyssa Schulz, the Illinois State women’s soccer team clinched the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Regular-Season Championship for the third-straight year after shutting out Drake, 2-0, at home Sunday. In total, the Redbirds have won the conference seven times in program history.
The win extends the Redbirds winning streak to eight to tie the program record for most consecutive wins in a season. The last time the Redbirds won eight-straight games as in 2001, while the Valley record is nine-straight wins.
”Getting the early goal has been crucial of us this season,” said head coach Drew Roff. “We have found a nice rhythm in the second half of the season. I don’t think you can ever get tired of winning a conference championship. It says a lot about the kind of character we have as a team, especially our senior class. After the challenging start we had this season, it is nice to see how this team has regrouped. It was a great overall team performance today and a well-deserved win. We are excited and looking forward to the conference tournament to see what we can do there.”
Schulz led the Redbirds in points on the game with three after assisting Carlson on the Redbirds first goal and scoring the second goal 28 minutes in from a Ruthie Zemke assist. Carlson scored just nine minutes into the half. On the season, Carlson and Schulz have 23 and 17 total points, respectively.
With the win, the Redbirds (10-5-1, 5-0-0 MVC) ended their home season undefeated and remain undefeated in conference play, while Roff is 18-1-2 at home during his first three years as head coach.
On the season, the Redbirds are fourth in program history for points in a season at Illinois State with 96 and goals in a season with 36.
The Redbird defense held the Bulldogs to just five total shots on the game to help Sasha Reiber earn her third conference shutout as goalkeeper for the Redbirds and fifth total shutout on the season. Drake’s Crystal Townley’s shot in the second half marked the best chance for the Bulldogs to score in the game, but the shot was blocked by the Redbirds’ Kristin Cooley to preserve the shutout win.
Sunday’s game also marked Senior Day, where seven Redbird seniors were honored before the start of the game. This year’s seniors include Brenna Bohl, Shannon Eccleston, Katie Grill-Donovan, Amy Heredia, Danielle Mutters, Raquel Rattray and Ammanda Wisniewski.
Over their four years of competition at Illinois State, the senior class is 37-26-9 overall and 16-4-3 in MVC play, leading the Redbirds to three-straight MVC Regular-Season Championships in 2007, 2008 and now 2009.
With the loss, Drake falls to 7-8-3 overall and 2-3-0 in Valley play.
Drake leads the all-time series against Illinois State, 5-4-2, while ISU has won the last four match-ups.
The Redbirds will go for an undefeated conference season as they conclude regular-season play Thursday when they travel to Missouri State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The win extends the Redbirds winning streak to eight to tie the program record for most consecutive wins in a season. The last time the Redbirds won eight-straight games as in 2001, while the Valley record is nine-straight wins.
”Getting the early goal has been crucial of us this season,” said head coach Drew Roff. “We have found a nice rhythm in the second half of the season. I don’t think you can ever get tired of winning a conference championship. It says a lot about the kind of character we have as a team, especially our senior class. After the challenging start we had this season, it is nice to see how this team has regrouped. It was a great overall team performance today and a well-deserved win. We are excited and looking forward to the conference tournament to see what we can do there.”
Schulz led the Redbirds in points on the game with three after assisting Carlson on the Redbirds first goal and scoring the second goal 28 minutes in from a Ruthie Zemke assist. Carlson scored just nine minutes into the half. On the season, Carlson and Schulz have 23 and 17 total points, respectively.
With the win, the Redbirds (10-5-1, 5-0-0 MVC) ended their home season undefeated and remain undefeated in conference play, while Roff is 18-1-2 at home during his first three years as head coach.
On the season, the Redbirds are fourth in program history for points in a season at Illinois State with 96 and goals in a season with 36.
The Redbird defense held the Bulldogs to just five total shots on the game to help Sasha Reiber earn her third conference shutout as goalkeeper for the Redbirds and fifth total shutout on the season. Drake’s Crystal Townley’s shot in the second half marked the best chance for the Bulldogs to score in the game, but the shot was blocked by the Redbirds’ Kristin Cooley to preserve the shutout win.
Sunday’s game also marked Senior Day, where seven Redbird seniors were honored before the start of the game. This year’s seniors include Brenna Bohl, Shannon Eccleston, Katie Grill-Donovan, Amy Heredia, Danielle Mutters, Raquel Rattray and Ammanda Wisniewski.
Over their four years of competition at Illinois State, the senior class is 37-26-9 overall and 16-4-3 in MVC play, leading the Redbirds to three-straight MVC Regular-Season Championships in 2007, 2008 and now 2009.
With the loss, Drake falls to 7-8-3 overall and 2-3-0 in Valley play.
Drake leads the all-time series against Illinois State, 5-4-2, while ISU has won the last four match-ups.
The Redbirds will go for an undefeated conference season as they conclude regular-season play Thursday when they travel to Missouri State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
