McLean County Times

Illinois State University's women's soccer team ended its season with a loss to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament Championship Game. The match, held at Adelaide Street Field on Sunday afternoon, was decided by penalty kicks after regulation and overtime finished scoreless.

The Redbirds, seeded fourth, faced sixth-seeded UIC in a closely contested game. Early in the match, both teams created scoring chances. Senior Cyerra Hibbert forced an early save from UIC's goalkeeper just three minutes into play. UIC responded with their own opportunity from a corner kick, but Redshirt Sophomore Madi Valenti made a diving save to keep the score level.

By halftime, neither team had scored. Illinois State led in shots with five compared to UIC's three. In the second half, UIC increased pressure but was unable to break through Illinois State's defense. As weather conditions worsened with falling temperatures and flurries, Valenti recorded three more saves late in regulation.

Overtime saw continued defensive efforts from both sides, including another key save by Valenti with less than two minutes remaining. With no goals scored through overtime periods, the championship was decided by penalties.

Illinois State finishes its season with an 8-6-8 record and reached its first MVC Championship Game since 2019. This win total is the highest for the program since that year and marks a new high under second-year head coach Raleigh DeRose.

Despite losing on penalties, Illinois State set a new program record with 13 shutouts this season—also tying for most shutouts by any MVC team in a single season. "Redshirt Sophomore Madi Valenti earned her 12th shutout of the season, which sets a new MVC record by a goalkeeper in a season," according to Illinois State Athletics. "Valenti was named to the MVC All-Tournament team after posting back-to-back shutouts."

Sophomore Chloe Cline and Senior Abby Hall also received All-Tournament recognition for their performances during Illinois State's tournament run.

Four Redbird players logged at least 1,900 minutes during the campaign—the second most in program history for such an achievement. Sophomore Kaya Durkee led all players with 1,996 minutes played; Valenti set a school record for goalkeepers with 1,958 minutes and tied for most matches played in school history at 22 appearances. Senior Jade Rehberger completed her career seventh all-time in total minutes played at Illinois State.

Freshman Grace Petrie recorded 1,934 minutes this year—the most by any Redbird since Kate Del Fava's freshman campaign in 2016.