Salukis to conclude road trip on Thursday at Indiana State

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University (5-3-2) is set to conclude its two-game road trip on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Indiana State (2-6-3).

Details
Who: Indiana State Sycamores (2-6-3; MVC: 2-1-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022
Where: Memorial Stadium - Terre Haute, Ind.
Live Stats: Here
Watch: ESPN+

Quick Hits

The Salukis have an overall record of 5-3-2 and are 2-1-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play heading into Thursday's match.
Southern Illinois is coming off of a thrilling, 2-1, win at Evansville on Sunday. Christy Murauskis scored the Salukis' opening goal in the 12th minute, the second earliest goal scored by SIU this season.
After the Aces tied the match at 1-1 early in the second half, Emma Spotak scored the dramatic, game-winning goal in the 89th minute to earn the victory. Spotak's goal was her second game-winner of the season and third of her career.
Maddy Alaluf made four saves in the win. This was the fifth consecutive match where Alaluf has tallied at least four saves, and seventh overall.
The senior goalkeeper ranks second in the Valley with an .815 save percentage, and is second in saves per game (4.89).
The Salukis are currently in fifth place in the MVC with a conference record of 2-1-1.
Southern Illinois leads the Valley in goals per game (1.30) and are third in goals against average (1.20).
Four players are tied for the team-lead in goals, with Spotak, Murauskis, Liz Brechtel, and Kaitlin DuCharme all having two goals each. Five others have scored once, with those five being McKinley Stiff, McKensey Bunch, Sam Dodd, Alyssa Fallon, and Quinn Parks.
Brechtel leads the Salukis in assists with two so far this year. Murauskis, Spotak, and Stiff all have one each.
Dodd is the team's leader in shots (22) and shots-on-goal (7).

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 Indiana State

The Sycamores hold an overall record of 2-6-3, and are 2-1-2 in conference play.
Indiana State currently sits in fourth place in the Valley. They are one spot behind Belmont, who hold the same conference record.
In their last match, the Sycamores tied Northern Iowa, 1-1, on Sunday. After trailing heading into the second half, Ella Gorrie scored the equalizer in the 75th minute off of a Anna Holcombe assist. Goalkeeper Tara Hoffman made a season-high nine saves in the draw.
Indiana State's out-of-conference schedule included games against Toledo, SIUE, Indiana, Illinois, UT Martin, and Eastern Illinois. The Sycamores went 0-5-1 in those matches, but are 2-1-2 in their last five games.
Gorrie's two goals and two assists are both team-high's.
Maddie Alexander has played the most minutes in-goal for the Sycamores, making 34 saves and allowing 13 goals in eight matches plated. Hoffman is Indiana State's other goalkeeper who has been featured this season, appearing in five matches and starting in four. Hoffman has allowed five goals and made 26 saves.
Julie Hanley is Indiana State's head coach, and is in her sixth season in the role.

Series History

This will be the third meeting all-time between the Salukis and Sycamores.

Upcoming Schedule

The Salukis will play three consecutive home matches after their trip to Indiana State, starting on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. against Northern Iowa. Southern Illinois will then host Murray State on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. and Illinois State on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m. in its final home match of the regular season.

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Players Mentioned

Maddy Alaluf

Liz Brechtel

McKensey Bunch

Sam Dodd

Kaitlin DuCharme

Alyssa Fallon

Christy Murauskis

Quinn Parks

Emma Spotak

McKinley Stiff

Scoreboard