WATERLOO, Iowa – Illinois State soccer received an early goal from Lauren Koehl and Kelli Zickert added an insurance goal in the second half as the Redbirds picked up a 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference win Saturday night at Northern Iowa.
The two teams entered the match tied in the standings and the win pushes the Redbirds to 5-7-2 overall and 2-1-0 in the MVC.
The Redbirds got on the board early as Koehl continued her stellar season with a goal in the sixth minute of action. The redshirt junior received a pass from Ali Farkos at the top of the goal box and beat the UNI keeper.
The goal was Koehl’s fifth of the season and the assist was Farkos’ fourth of the year. She has now scored in all three conference games this season. ISU controlled the rest of the half, owning an 8-2 advantage in shots at halftime. Vanessa Niestrom was not tested in the net during the first 45 minutes of play.
In the second half, ISU weathered an early storm of offense from the Panthers and in the 60th minute, Zickert dribbled down the right side of the box and slid a shot into the left side of the net to make it 2-0. The goal was Zickert’s second of the season.
ISU controlled the rest of the match and had several more scoring opportunities, while effectively killing the clock.
The Redbirds outshot Northern Iowa 21-9 and had 11 shots on goal for the match. Niestrom made two saves in the net while Whitney Blunt was forced to make nine for UNI.
ISU is back on the road Oct. 17 at Missouri State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Springfield, Missouri.
