OPENING WHISTLE
Indiana State continues the season-opening round swing when they travel to Saint Louis on Sunday, August 25. Kick-off is set for 2:00 pm (ET) and will be televised nationally on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on GoSycamores.com.

Head coach Julie Hanley, in her fourth season at the helm, led ISU to their first conference tournament appearance since 2013 after a fourth place finish in the 2016 campaign. She then led the Sycamores to a nail biting penalty kick win over the Drake Bulldogs in the MVC Tournament to secure a spot in the semifinals. In 2018, she led the Sycamores to four road wins for the first time since 2013 as well as a four match undefeated streak in road games for the first time in the history of the program.

Of Indiana State's six victories last season, four came on the road. The Sycamores saw a string of five consecutive matches undefeated end on September 14 against Western Michigan. It marked the first time since 2013 that Indiana State has enjoyed a streak of success that long. Indiana State enjoyed undefeated streaks of six matches three times (in 2006, 2010 & 2013) which is a record for the program. 

Indiana State's 6-3-2 non-conference record was the best among the league membership outside of MVC  play one year ago.

The Valley on ESPN, part of the Missouri Valley Conference's media rights agreement with ESPN, will feature most home soccer matches from all eight MVC institutions on the ESPN+ and the ESPN3 streaming platforms. The HD-quality telecasts are available on the ESPN app. Seven Sycamore games will be featured on ESPN+ while four will be shown live world wide on ESPN3.

MATCH PREVIEW 
This is the first meeting in the all-time series against Saint Louis.
 

Danielle Varner Named To Preseason All-MVC Team
Indiana State junior Danielle Varner was named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Team as part of a summer time vote of the league's head coaches. Varner was named in 2018 to the All-MVC Second Team as well as an honorable mention Valley Scholar-Athlete. She played and started in all 18 matches for the Sycamores and scored a pair of goals while adding an assist for a total of five points on the season. Varner fired off 15 shots, including five shots on goal. She scored her first goal at Akron as she had three shots in the contest. Varner then added another goal as part of the eight goal outburst against Chicago State. She tallied an assist in conference play at Missouri State. Varner was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week after the Sycamores completed a busy three-game road swing around the Labor Day weekend undefeated. It was her first career MVC Weekly honor.

Overall, the Sycamores were picked to finish eighth in the league, just one point behind Valparaiso for the seventh place spot. Loyola garnered six first place votes for a total of 62 points while Drake got one first place nod and 55 points. Illinois State was picked third and received a first place vote while Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Evansville, Valparaiso and the Sycamores rounded out the list.

Anna Holcombe Gets Sycamores On The Board In 1-0 Exhibition Victory
Freshman Anna Holcombe scored the game winner in the 48th minute when she hit a shot from 18 yards out and it struck the back of the net to give the Sycamores the 1-0 cushion they would make hold up for the entire contest. Despite the fact that the Sycamores scored the only goal of the match -- their were 29 total shots between the two teams, including a combined 16 shots on goal. Hannah Sullivan recorded six saves and kept a clean sheet in 90 minutes of work. Her counterpart from Marian Claire Gavin recorded eight saves and allowed just one Sycamore goal. For the second consecutive match, the Sycamores were led in shots by freshman Celeste Wahlberg who had eight shots, including three on goal. Holcombe tallied five shots, including a pair on goal. Sidney Ewing posts three shots in the match, including a pair on goal. Olivia Sharar had a pair of shots in the game, including one on goal while Erin Sweda posted one shot on goal. All 19 of the Sycamores shots came from either freshmen or sophomores.

Road Tested, Road Approved
Of Indiana State's six victories last season, four came on the road. The Sycamores went undefeated in four consecutive road contests earlier this season for the first time in the history of the program. The Sycamores' four road wins are the most for the program since 2012. The Indiana State school record of five road victories in one season was set back in 2006. The Sycamores final road chance comes on Thursday, October 25 at Illinois State.

8-0 Win Over Chicago State Was Most Goals Ever Scored Versus A NCAA Division I School
Indiana State's 8-0 offensive outburst against Chicago State proved to be the most goals scored for the Sycamores since they tallied nine on October 12, 2008 against Oakland City. ISU's eight goals against the Cougars are the most ever for the program against a NCAA Division I team. ISU improved to 5-0 all-time against Chicago State, and have beaten them by a cumulative score of 34-2.

Sidney Ewing and Caitlyn Eddy Know To Strike Fast
Indiana State senior Caitlyn Eddy provided a quick strike for the Sycamore offense on August 24 as it came in quick fashion, scoring with just 2:24 elapsed off the clock. It was the fourth fastest goal scored in the 18-year history of the ISU women's soccer program and the fastest since Leah Galton found the back of the net against Hofstra in just 84 seconds on September 7, 2014. Sidney Ewing gave that mark a run for the money against Chicago State on September 16 when she stole the ball and scored from 25 yards out just 2:0 into the match. Ewing's goal proved to be the fifth-fastest goal scored in ISU history. This season, the Sycamores have scored two of the five fastest goals in the history of the program.

Up Next
The Sycamores open the home portion of the schedule against Milwaukee on Friday, August 30 at Memorial Stadium. Kick-off is set for 7 pm (ET).