The Indiana State women's soccer team plays their final regular season match of the year on Sunday, when they hit the road for a 2:00 p.m. ET match with the Illinois State Redbirds. The Sycamores currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 2-3 conference record and a win or tie on Sunday afternoon would guarantee ISU a spot in the postseason tournament.

After the Sycamores face the Redbirds, they will have to sit back and see where the conference standings fall, as the other six teams in the MVC face off on Thursday before the State Farm MVC Tournament begins the following Sunday with quarterfinal matchups.

The Redbirds enter the match with a 7-6-1 record this season and 2-1-1 in conference play. ILS, the preseason pick to win the MVC, is tied with Missouri State for second place in the MVC standings entering the match with the Sycamores on Sunday.

Head Coach Erika True

Head coach Erika True begins her second season in charge of the Indiana State women's soccer program with the beginning of the 2010 season. Head coach True led the Sycamores to their best start in the program history this season, as the team shot out of the gates to a 6-2 record through eight matches.

ISU set or tied several program records on the pitch in the first year under head coach True, including: most MVC Player of the Week selections (four), most road results in a single season (five), most MVC First Team Scholar-Athlete selections (three), most overall MVC Scholar-Athlete selections (four) and most individual goals in a game (by seniors Katlin Owens and Erin Bianchi).

True came to Indiana State after spending four seasons as the assistant coach at Indiana University when she was hired on February 10, 2009. During her tenure at IU, True held numerous responsibilities, including: head goalkeepers coach, organizer of recruiting visits and all on-campus team activities.

True concluded her time as a student-athlete in 2002 after spending four seasons as a goalkeeper at Bowling Green State University. As team captain at BGSU in 2002, True finished her career holding every goalkeeping record (single-match, season, and career) in school history. She was the second player in school history to earn First Team All-MAC honors, while also setting conference career records for minutes played and saves.

A Little History

The Sycamores and Redbirds have met every season since 2000, with Illinois State holdings a 9-3 advantage in the series. ILS has won five of the last six meetings, with Indiana State's win coming in 1-0 shutout fashion in 2008 to send the Sycamores to State Farm MVC Tournament championship match. ISU has traveled to Normal, Ill., six previous times and has come away with a loss on each trip.

Scouting The Redbirds

Illinois State carries a 7-6-1 record into Sunday's conference matchup, including a 2-1-1 mark in MVC play. The Redbirds have struggled at home this season, totaling 2-3-1 overall record and 0-1-1 in conference. In their two conference matches, ILS has fallen to Northern Iowa (1-0 on Oct. 8) and tied Missouri State (0-0 on Oct. 10). Junior forward Jessica Carlson leads the Redbirds this season with 12 points on an even split of four goals and four assists, while senior forward Alyssa Schulz is second on the team with eight points (3 G, 3 2). Sophomore Mara Kremenovic has played every minute in goal this season for the Redbirds, totaling 55 saves and four shutouts while carrying a 1.20 goals against average.

Wendlandt Named MVC Player Of The Week

Junior Morgan Wendlandt broke a scoreless tie in the 74th minute on Sunday afternoon with a free kick goal from 25 yards out. The goal was Wendlandt's second this season, as she also scored the game-winner on a free kick against IPFW on August 29.

The junior defender from Fort Atkinson, Wis., also assisted ISU to their second straight shutout on Sunday, as the ISU defensive backline allowed just seven total shots and three shots on goal to the Panthers. Wendlandt is currently third on the team with 32 shots and tied for second in shots on goal, with 11.

Players Of The Week Record

In all, the Sycamores have earned a school record five Player of the Week selections this season, topping 2003 and 2009 when ISU received four awards each season. This season, ISU has earned two Offensive Player of the Week honors (from Alison Gasparovich on Sept. 20 and Oct. 11) and three Defensive Player of the Week picks (Emily Lahay on Aug. 30, Kourtney Vassar on Sept. 13 and Wendlandt this week).

.500 Or Better

ISU currently sits at .500 this season, at 8-8-1 overall. With their final regular season match of the year on the road against Illinois State, the Sycamores will look to secure their first .500 or better finish to a season in school history with a win over the Redbirds.

Halftime Adjustments

Whatever head coach Erika True has been saying during the halftime break has caused the Sycamores to come out firing in the second half of matches. ISU holds a slim 98-85 advantage in shots over the first 45 minutes of their matches, but have dominated possession in the second half, racking up a 146-86 advantage of shots in the second half and overtimes this season.

Streak Snapped

Morgan Wendlandt's goal on Sunday against UNI broke a string of six straight ISU goals over eight consecutive matches that had been scored by ISU junior Alison Gasparovich.

State Farm MVC Tournament

The Indiana State women's soccer team controls their own fate when it comes to their tournament seeding. With one game left in the regular season, ISU needs to grab just one point against Illinois State to secure a spot in the State Farm MVC Tournament beginning on Sunday, Oct. 31. ISU is currently tied with Drake for the fourth seed in the tournament, but would receive the fourth seed if the season ended today due to ISU's 1-0 overtime win against the Bulldogs on Oct. 8.

Record Setters

With the 2010 team setting the record for the best start in school history, several individual performances have made their way into the Indiana State record book. Below is a quick snapshot of records set this season.

Goals (Single Match)

T1. Casey Clark (2 on Sept. 5) / Alison Gasparovich (2 on Sept. 19)

Goals (Single Season)                                   Shots (Single Match)

T1. Alison Gasparovich (8)                            3. Seyma Erenli (8 on Sept. 5)

Points (Single Season)                                  Goals Against Avg. (Single Season)

4. Alison Gasparovich (19)                            1. Emily Lahay (0.89)

Goals Per Game (Single Season)                    Shutouts (Single Season)

1. Alison Gasparovich (0.47)                         T1. Emily Lahay (5)

Points Per Game (Single Season)                   Wins (Single Season)

T4. Alison Gasparovich (1.12)                       T2. Emily Lahay (8)

2010 MVC Standings (as of October 21, 2010)

                                    MVC       Overall     Streak    Remaining Matches

1. Creighton                  4-0-0      12-2-2       W10      at MSU (10/22), vs. ILS (10/28)

T2. Missouri State          2-1-1       8-5-2         L1       vs. CU (10/22) vs. UE (10/28)

T2. Illinois State            2-1-1       7-6-1         W2       vs. INS (10/24), at CU (10/28)

T4. Indiana State       2-3-0      8-8-1         L1       at Illinois State (10/24)

T4. Drake                     2-3-0       9-5-3         W1       at Northern Iowa (10/28)

T6. Evansville               1-3-0       4-9-1         W1       vs. ULC (10/22), vs. UNI (10/24), at MSU (10/28)

T6. Northern Iowa         1-3-0      4-10-2         L1       at UE (10/24), vs. DU (10/28)

Around The Conference (as of October 21, 2010)

Shots (Team)          Total    Avg/G                    Points (Team)         Total    Avg/G

1. Creighton             254      15.9                     1. Creighton             104       6.5

2. Indiana State    244      14.6                     2. Drake                   61        3.6

3. Drake                  237      13.9                     3. Missouri State        58        3.9

4. Missouri State       189      12.6                    4. Indiana State     48        2.8

5. Illinois State         187      13.4                     5. Illinois State          40        2.9

6. Northern Iowa      158       9.9                      6. Evansville             38        2.7

7. Evansville             120       8.6                      7. Northern Iowa       37        2.3

Goals (Team)          Total    Avg/G                    Assists (Team)        Total    Avg/G

1. Creighton              38        2.4                      1. Creighton              28        1.8

2. Drake                   22        1.3                      2. Drake                    17        1.0

3. Missouri State        21        1.4                      3. Missouri State       16        1.1

4. Indiana State     18        1.1                      4. Illinois State          14        1.0

T5. Evansville            13        0.9                      T5. Evansville            12        0.9

T5. Illinois State        13        0.9                      T5. Indiana State    12        0.7

T5. Northern Iowa     13        0.8                       7. Northern Iowa       11        0.7

Points (Ind.)            Total     G / A                    Goals (Ind.)              Total      GP

1. Neumann, CU        21       8 / 5                    T1. Gasparovich, INS      8         17

T2. Gasparovich, INS    19      8 / 3                    T1. Neumann, CU        8         16

T2. Zuniga, CU          19       6 / 7                     T3. Zuniga, CU           6         16

4. Cingoranelli, CU     15       6 / 3                     T3. Cingoranelli, CU    6         16

5. Gunther, CU          14       6 / 2                     T3. Gunther, CU          6         16

6. Carlson, ILS          12       4 / 4                     6. Williams, MSU         5         15

T13. Collins, INS      8       3 / 2                     T12. Collins, INS        3         17