DES MOINES, IOWA - Ammanda Wisniewski scored with 24 seconds
remaining in the first half to lift Illinois State past the Drake women's
soccer team with a 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference victory Saturday
afternoon at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Wisniewski scored a one-timer off a cross into the middle
from Raquel Rattray.
"We had the opportunity to accomplish something special today, but couldn't
put together 90 minutes of high-intensity soccer. If we had started the game
with the same passion and urgency we ended with, we could have earned a
different result." said Drake Head Coach Lindsey Horner.
The Bulldogs, who fell to 8-9-1, 4-2-0 enter the Missouri Valley Conference
tournament as the No. 3 seed where they will face sixth-seeded Indiana State
in the first round Wednesday at Creighton's Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Neb. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.
With conference championship implications on the line, the
game was intense at times, finishing with 29 fouls and four yellow cards.
Freshman Melissa Lewis (Edina, Minn./Edina), junior Elizabeth Woerle (Coon Rapids, Minn./Meadow
Creek) and sophomore Abi Dodds (Topeka, Kan./Hayden)
led Drake with two shots and one shot on goal apiece. Freshman Lauren Wiltshire (Littleton, Colo./Heritage)
had two shots for the Bulldogs.
"We got about as close as you can get to scoring
without finding a way to score," added Horner.
Junior Jenny Schroeder (Albuquerque, N.M/Sandia) and freshman Kourtney Arnold (Norwalk,
Iowa) split time in goal for
Drake, each totaling 45 minutes. Schroeder collected one save in the first half
while Arnold
had three saves in the second half.
"At this point we regroup and prepare to face Indiana State
in the conference tournament and hope that we earn a rematch with Illinois State," said Horner.