OXFORD, Ohio – Chloe Masys scored with 13:32 left in regulation and the Miami soccer team dominated possession throughout a 1-0 win over Illinois State on Friday afternoon.
The victory is the first of Miami head coach
Courtney Sirmans' career as the RedHawks improve to 1-2-1 on the season.
"It was great to put a complete game together," Sirmans said. "Illinois State is a great team that's done really well in the past with multiple appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The players completely earned that win today and this is a great start for the new journey going forward and I'm extremely proud of them."
The teams felt each other out in the early going before Miami established a strong presence in the attacking third for large portions of the first half.
Jordan King's long distance bid in the 18th minute nearly put the RedHawks on the board as she ripped one from 27 yards out, but it rang off the Redbird (1-2-2) goal post and stayed out. Miami put two of its seven shot attempts on goal and created a couple corner kick tries while allowing just one Illinois State shot, but the teams remained deadlocked at 0-0 at the half.
Play in the second half saw Miami again control possession with precision passing and control.
Lyda Bogdanovitch had a great run in the 52nd minute, but Hayley Smith made a stop from in front.
Desiree Grubbs tried to stuff in a rebound at the left post, but the shot hit a wall of sliding defenders and went out.
Miami started racking up set piece opportunities as the second half wore on, creating five of its seven corner kicks in the final 45 minutes. One of those finally paid off in the 77th minute when
Jordan King served a perfect ball right to Masys for a header at the back post to give the Red & White a 1-0 lead, their first of the season on Masys' first collegiate goal.
The Redbirds tried to respond in kind, drawing a corner kick of their own with under 12 minutes left that did not connect. ISU then had a tremendous chance at an equalizer in the 87th minute when a foul just outside the box gave it a free kick from an angle at about 20 yards out. However, all that came of that was a shot by Abby Basler that went well wide of the cage.
MU finished the contest with a 15-6 shot advantage and also a 7-6 lead in corner kicks, with none more important than Masys' goal.
Patricia Koutoulas stopped the only shot that came her way to pick up her third career solo shutout and Smith made five saves for the Redbirds.
The RedHawks wrap up their brief homestand on Sunday against Evansville. First kick is at 1 p.m.
