McLean County Times

Illinois State University’s women’s soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament after a 2-1 overtime win against Southern Illinois on Sunday at Adelaide Street Field.

Sophomore Chloe Cline scored both goals for Illinois State, including the game-winner in the 93rd minute. This marked her first career brace and made her the first Redbird since Kate Del Fava in 2019 to score twice in an MVC tournament match. Del Fava’s performance also occurred during Illinois State’s last overtime victory in the conference tournament.

The match began with both teams recording four shots each within the first 25 minutes. Southern Illinois took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute, capitalizing on a rebound from a shot that hit the woodwork, and maintained this advantage through halftime.

Illinois State increased its offensive pressure after halftime. In the 59th minute, following a blocked shot by sophomore Danica Key, Cline scored on a rebound to tie the game at 1-1. Key was credited with her first career assist on this goal.

Shortly after Illinois State equalized, Southern Illinois received a red card, leaving them with ten players for the rest of the match. The Redbirds outshot their opponents 7-1 in regular time's closing moments but were unable to break through before overtime.

In overtime, Illinois State continued its attack and won a corner kick early in the period. Sophomore Kaya Durkee delivered a ball that was deflected toward Cline, who headed it into goal for her second score and secured victory for her team.

With this result, Illinois State remains unbeaten at Adelaide Street Field during conference play for the first time since 2016. The team recorded 18 shots during this game—their highest total since August 31 against UT Martin and third most overall this season.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Madi Valenti made three saves and now ranks sixth all-time in program history with 156 career saves. She has tallied 76 saves so far this season, tying for tenth most by any Redbird goalkeeper in one campaign. Valenti is also noted as "the first goalkeeper since Haley Smith (2016-19) to earn two top-10 individual save totals in a season."

Next up for Illinois State is an away semifinal matchup against No.1 seed Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. The game is scheduled for November 5 at 3:05 p.m., and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.