Oct. 7, 2009

NORMAL, Ill. - Jessica Carlson scored a hat trick Wednesday as Illinois State rallied past Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 5-1 in women's college soccer.

Illinois State improved to 6-5-1 while SIUE fell to 0-8-1.

SIUE Coach Derek Burton said the Cougars will refocus on marking, tracking and defending as a team before next taking the field Sunday against Drake, a homecoming game which begins at 1 p.m. at Korte Stadium.

Carlson, who took nine shots, opened the scoring at 16:10 as Alyssa Schulz made the connecting pass for an assist.

SIUE would tie up the score almost immediately. Brittany Bodziak scored just 24 seconds later unassisted. It was Bodziak's first goal of the season.

"Not only did score a great goal, she played well the whole game," said Burton.

Illinois State went up 2-1 by halftime as Carlson scored a second time at 20:24.

Burton said the Cougars had opportunities to tie up the score but didn't find the back of the net. "We created a lot of good chances the whole game," said Burton. In the end, the Redbirds had too much for the Cougars to handle.

Schulz, Carlson and Danielle Mutters added second-half goals. Illinois State outshot SIUE 22-7.

"Give them credit," Burton said, "they attacked on offense."

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