Illinois State Soccer Beings Conference Play After Historic Start

Image Courtesy of Illinois State Athletics 

NORMAL, Ill. — After its best start in almost 15 years, going 5-1-3 in non-conference play, Illinois State soccer travels to Kentucky to take on conference rival Murray State on Sunday, Sept. 20. 

The Redbirds closed out the first half of their season and non-conference schedule with a 3-1 road victory over Western Illinois. The outcome marked their third straight win. 

Senior defender Ava Watson has been a big part of that success, having scored a goal in each of the last three games. After playing a more defensive role throughout her career, Watson and the team made a change to her involvement. 

“I was gonna have to take on a bit more of an offensive role and get more involved in the attack,” Watson said. “So I really took it upon myself to work on that in the offseason, and I’ve come back and been able to contribute to the attack” 

This will be the fifth time the two teams have met in five years. In the four previous matches. Illinois State has never beaten the Racers. The team has lost twice and tied the last two games, most recently being last season in a 1-1 final. 

Murray State currently sits near the bottom of the MVC with a 1-6-2 record.  

“We are ready for each of our opponents, and our coach likes to say that we respect everybody but fear nobody,” Watson said. 

This will also be the first time in a month that the team has a full week between games, giving the players extra time to recover and prepare. 

“We’ve had some more time to focus on the things that we’re struggling with,” Watson said. “And we’ve had a lot of time for recovery to make sure that we’re feeling good.” 

The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 20th. 

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