McLean County Times

The Illinois State Redbirds women's soccer team recorded their largest victory since 2019 with a 5-0 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Thursday night at Adelaide Street Field. This result marks the Redbirds' first win of the season, bringing their record to 1-3-1 while Western Illinois falls to 1-2-0.

Illinois State had not scored five or more goals in a match since September 8, 2022, when they defeated Lindenwood 5-1. The last time they won by a margin of five or more goals was September 28, 2019, against Northern Iowa.

The Redbirds dominated early, registering 16 shots in the first half. In the 22nd minute, Erika Wells assisted Eve Gricius for her first goal of the season from a corner kick. Four minutes later, Chloe Cline scored her second goal of the year by heading in a set-piece pass from Kaya Durkee.

Durkee provided another assist in the 39th minute when her corner found Danica Key, who scored to make it 3-0. With just over a minute left before halftime, Elyse Deschryver added another goal with a left-footed shot that beat the Western Illinois goalkeeper and gave ISU a four-goal lead at halftime.

In the second half, both teams went scoreless until an own goal by Western Illinois late in the match set the final score at 5-0.

Illinois State will travel next to Martin, Tennessee for a game against UT Martin Skyhawks on Sunday, August 31 with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m.