By ISU Sports Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Illinois State soccer team (11-5-2, 4-0-1 MVC) pulled off the win in the last seven minutes at Evansville Sunday in the 2-1 victory over the Purple Aces (4-11-1, 3-2-0).
ISU heads into the final game of regular season having clinched the regular season title and #1 seed for the conference tournament.
“I am so proud of our team and their performance today,” head coach Eric Golz said. “We remained committed to our playing identity, believed in our ability to solve the problems the game presented, and made critical plays at crucial times in the game.”
The first half was nothing short of aggressive. The Redbirds limited Evansville to only 4 shots in the half while Evansville countered, limiting ISU to only six. The first goal came in the 37th when Colleen Dierkes was able to beat the Redbird defense and lure keeper Haley Smith off the line for an open goal.
Lauren Koehl and Paige Jarsombeck each had close calls, with shots barely missing the inside of the post, rolling out. The offense continued to work throughout the first half, finishing with five corner kicks to Evansville’s zero.
ISU started the second half just as aggressive as the first, getting two shots off in the first five minutes. In the 60th minute, Kelli Zickert and Mikayla Unger created a dangerous opportunity off a shot by Zickert that brought the keeper off the line for an open goal. Unger just missed the rebound by a step.
The Redbirds did not back down. Things got interesting in the 83rd minute when Brianne Richards got a goal after Sara Stankoskey was able to feed the ball into the box to the feet of Koehl. Koehl was able to find Richards in the flurry to tie the match 1-1. In typical fashion, Koehl pulled through with her 14th goal of the season in the 88th minute for the game-winner after beating two defenders off a through ball from Zickert.
With the win, ISU returns to its spot atop the Missouri Valley Conference, earning its 11th regular season title in program history and have secured the #1 seed headed into tournament play in two weeks.
“It is a special accomplishment to win the program’s eleventh MVC Regular Season championship in our 20th season of competition. This team has invested a tremendous amount of work and made so much progress in the past year, so we are going to enjoy this for the night and get back to work to prepare for UNI,” said Golz.
The Redbirds return to action at home Thursday when they host Northern Iowa for their final game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field.
