Salukis to host Illinois State on Sunday in final home game of regular season

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University (7-3-3) will play its final home match of the regular season on Sunday against Illinois State at 1 p.m.

Details
Who: Illinois State Redbirds (2-12-1)
Time: 1 p.m.
Date: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022
Where: Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex - Carbondale, Ill.
Live Stats: Here

Quick Hits

The Salukis hold a record of 7-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in conference play.
In its last match, Southern Illinois shut-out Murray State, 1-0, on Thursday night. Lara Barbieri scored from the penalty spot in the 85th minute after Emma Spotak drew the penalty. The goal was Barbieri's first as a Saluki.
Ary Lougher made her first start of the season against the Racers, tallying three saves and her first career shutout in the win.
The shutout was Southern Illinois' fifth of the season and second in its last three matches.
The Salukis are four matches unbeaten, going 3-0-1 in their last four games. They have out-scored their opponents, 5-2, during that span. The unbeaten run comes after Southern Illinois went six games without a loss from Sept. 1 to Sept. 25.
Southern Illinois enters the weekend in third place in the Valley. The only two schools ahead of SIU are Missouri State and Valparaiso.
The Salukis are second in the conference in goals per game (1.23) and are tied for second in goals against average (1.00).
Senior goalkeeper Maddy Alaluf has started in 11 matches for the Salukis. In those 11 matches, Alaluf has made 51 saves and allowed 11 goals. Her .823 save percentage ranks second in the Valley.
Spotak leads the team and ranks inside the top 10 in the conference with three goals on the year. The senior's two game-winning goals are also a team-high.
Liz Brechtel, Christy Murauskis, and Kaitlin DuCharme are all tied for second on the team with two goals each.
Brechtel is the team's leader in assists with two so far this season. After her, four players have tallied one assist, with those four being Spotak, Murauskis, McKinley Stiff, and Ashlyn Henrie.
Sam Dodd's 28 shots and 11 shots-on-goal are both team-high's.

Head Coach Craig Roberts

Roberts is in his first season as Southern Illinois' head coach. For the last two seasons, Roberts served as the head coach at Grambling State, where he led the Tigers to a combined record of 17-9-5 and back-to-back trips to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship match.
Prior to Grambling State, Roberts coached nine seasons at Ball State, totaling 99 wins to become the winningest coach in program history. Under his guidance, the Cardinals won four-consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division titles from 2015-2018 and claimed back-to-back MAC regular-season championships in 2015 and 2016.
Roberts' first head coaching job was with UT Martin, which went from 2006-2009. In 2009, he and the Skyhawks won their first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship.
Outside of collegiate soccer, Roberts also has experience on an international level. From 2014-16, he was an assistant coach on the Haitian Women's National Team. During this time, he also served as the head coach of the U-17 Haitian National Team. After Haiti, Roberts was an assistant coach with the Puerto Rican Women's National Team from 2016-19.

Looking at Illinois State

The Redbirds head into Carbondale with an overall record of 2-12-1 and a conference record of 0-6-1.
Illinois State lost, 7-3, at Murray State in its last match on Sunday, Oct. 9. The seven goals were the most conceded by the Redbirds in a match this season.
In the loss, Haley Glover, Katharine Ashley, and Katherine Felton were the three goalscorers for the Redbirds.
Illinois State is looking for its first win since Sept. 11, when the Redbirds earned a 2-1 road victory at Western Illinois.
Glover and Allison Baker are tied for the most goals on the team with three each.
Hillary Griffin's five assists lead the Redbirds and are the second most in the Valley.
Audrey Brown has played the most games in-goal for Illinois State, playing in 12 total and starting in 11. Brown has allowed 21 goals and made 50 saves, tallying a .704 save percentage on the season.
The Redbirds are led by head coach Marisa Kresge, who is in her first season in the role.

Series History

Sunday's match will be the third meeting all-time between the Salukis and Redbirds.

Upcoming Schedule

The Salukis will head to Valparaiso on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. for their next match. Southern Illinois will then conclude the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 23 at UIC at 12 p.m.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Soccer, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoccer and on Instagram at @SIU_Soccer. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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