MACOMB, Ill. — The Western Illinois women's soccer team will look to build on its strongest performance of the young season as the Leathernecks travel to Brookings, South Dakota, to face South Dakota State on Thursday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Fishback Soccer Park.
Western Illinois enters the matchup still searching for its first victory of the season but showed significant progress in its most recent outing against Eastern Washington. The Leathernecks played with increased energy, physicality and composure while scoring their first goal of the season in a 3-1 contest Sunday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
After falling behind 3-0 late in the match, Western Illinois continued to push forward and found the back of the net in the 90th minute. Rita Moran scored the first goal of the season for the Leathernecks off an assist from Callie McMurtrey.
The performance also showed improvement throughout the field, as Western Illinois competed with greater intensity and remained organized defensively while finding more opportunities to maintain possession and move the ball forward.
The Leathernecks will now look to carry that momentum into Thursday's matchup as they continue their search for the program's first win of the season.
South Dakota State enters the contest with a 3-1 record and will also be looking to respond after suffering its first defeat of the year. The Jackrabbits fell 2-0 to Kansas State on Sunday in Manhattan.
The match changed in the 20th minute when South Dakota State goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart received a red card, forcing the Jackrabbits to play the remainder of the contest with 10 players. Leah Bacon entered in goal and made a career-high five saves while playing more than 70 minutes.
Kansas State scored in the 28th minute and added another goal early in the second half to secure the 2-0 victory. Despite playing a player down for most of the match, the Jackrabbits kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the final 38 minutes.
South Dakota State was limited to five shots in the contest, with Hannah Langstaff leading the team with two attempts.
Thursday's matchup begins a three-game homestand for the Jackrabbits, while the Leathernecks will look to turn the progress shown against Eastern Washington into a breakthrough result.
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