Record 1,085 Fans See ISU and UofI Draw 1-1

by Casey Richards
August 19, 2012
<p><strong>NORMAL, Ill. &ndash; </strong>In front of an Adelaide Street Field-record 1,085 fans, the Illinois State soccer team played the 19<sup>th</sup>-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini to a 1-1 draw.&nbsp; Both teams tallied goals in the first half, but went the remaining of regulation and two overtime periods without scoring.</p> <p>&ldquo;I think a draw was a somewhat fair result,&rdquo; head coach <strong>Drew Roff </strong>said.&nbsp; &ldquo;Illinois had some great chances to score and win the game, and our goalkeeper (<strong>Aryn Newsom</strong>) came up big a couple of times.&nbsp; We definitely created a couple of excellent opportunities in the second half and the two overtime periods as well.&nbsp; Obviously, both teams wanted to win, but I think a draw is a fair result because both teams played well and battled hard.</p> <p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m thrilled,&rdquo; Roff added about the attendance record.&nbsp; &ldquo;Our players work so hard and do so many great things on the field, in the classroom and in the community.&nbsp; For them to look over there and see those types of numbers is tremendous for them and for our program.&rdquo;</p> <p>The record crowd, which nearly doubled the previous high of 550 set in 2001, saw a back-and-forth affair between two 2011 NCAA Tournament Teams.&nbsp; <strong>Rachel Tejada </strong>put the Redbirds (1-0-1) up in the 22<sup>nd</sup> minute by converting a penalty kick for her third goal of 2012.&nbsp; <strong>Aimee Wronski</strong> played a ball to Tejada in behind the Illini (1-0-1) defense before she was taken down inside the box.&nbsp; Tejada was slow to get up, but recovered to bury the penalty inside the left post as Illinois keeper Steph Panozzo dove right.&nbsp;</p> <p>It was Tejada&rsquo;s first penalty attempt and conversion of her career.&nbsp; The 21-goal scorer from 2011 has netted all three Redbird tallies of 2012.&nbsp; Her 24-career goals rank her third on the program&rsquo;s all-time list, five behind 2008-2011 Redbird <strong>Jessica Carlson</strong> for second.</p> <p>The Illini didn&rsquo;t waste much time evening the match, as freshman Nicole Breece knotted the game at 1-1 in the 30<sup>th</sup> minute.&nbsp; Senior Niki Read played a low cross through the box from the right side to Breece, who beat Newsom<strong> </strong>inside the left post.&nbsp; The goal was the first of Breece&rsquo;s Illini career.</p> <p>Illinois State had the best opportunity in overtime, as freshman <strong>Abby Van Deventer </strong>received a ball on the left side of the box.&nbsp; She attempted to settle it before letting a shot go, but her try sailed over the crossbar.&nbsp; ISU outshot the Illini in the extra periods 6-5 overall, with five of the Redbird attempts coming in the first overtime session.</p> <p>Newsom, a redshirt-sophomore,<strong> </strong>made numerous key saves throughout on her way to stopping a career-high 10 shots.&nbsp; The Illini outshot the Redbirds 26-17 overall, with both teams taking five corner kicks.&nbsp; Panozzo stopped three shots for Illinois.</p> <p>Sunday&rsquo;s draw was the 10<sup>th</sup> battle between the in-state rivals, with Illinois leading the series 6-2-2.&nbsp; The match was the first between the two programs since 2009 and second since 2005.</p> <p>The Redbirds travel to Fort Meyers, Fla., next weekend to participate in the Embassy Suites Kick-Off Classic.&nbsp; ISU will take on Florida Atlantic Friday, Aug. 24, at 4 p.m., before facing 2011 Atlantic Sun champions Florida Gulf Coast Sunday, Aug. 26 at 11 a.m.&nbsp; The next home match will be Sunday, Sep. 2 against Western Michigan.</p>
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