ST. LOUIS, MO – The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's soccer team fended off the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) in a 1-0 victory during Sunday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup.

UIS (6-2-2, 3-2-1) came into Sunday's match off a 2-1 loss to Maryville University (5-2-1, 4-1-1) on Friday but was able to come out of the weekend with a road GLVC split.

"This match was a grind but we found a way to win," UIS coach Erin Egolf said. "There was a collective effort by the entire team to put in the best effort possible and that paid off."

Taylor Mraz struck during the 25th minute with the only goal of the match. Valentina Rodriguez fired a pass to Mraz, Mraz bet the left-side defender and put the Prairie Stars on the board. Rodriguez earned the assist.

"After the game on Friday, we were all hungry for the win on Sunday," Mraz commented. "Even if it wasn't our best match, every player battled for 90 minutes to get the result that we wanted."

"We all knew the importance of this match; we all wanted to win and it showed," UIS goalkeeper Paloma Guijarro added. "It was a hard-fought match and all of the girls worked for this much-deserved win."

The Tritons (2-5-1, 1-5) made an effort to even the score in the 43rd minute when Shannon Rettig took a shot from outside of the box that went just wide.

During the 66th minute, Rettig produced a shot from 25 yards out, but Guijarro came up with the save.

Allysiah Belt saw one final opportunity to tie the game for UMSL in the last minute of the match, but Guijarro rejected the shot.

"We have a talented team with a lot of heart and it just showed how we can use to come out top."

Guijarro tallied five saves as the junior from Waukegan, IL compiled her third shutout of the season.

UMSL outshot UIS by an 11-to-3 margin.

Mraz scored on her only shot on goal. Amanda Meyer also added two shots for the Prairie Stars.

Belt provided three shots on target for the Tritons while Rettig and Sarah Lyon each added a shot on goal.

The GLVC race continues to be competitive as 11-of-15 teams in the conference hold a conference winning percentage of at least .500. UIS is currently tied for ninth. The GLVC Tournament takes the top eight teams in the conference and the Prairie Stars shoot to capture more wins that will help them propel into postseason play.

"This team has a lot of heart and if we continue to play well, I know the postseason tournament is in reach this year," Mraz said.

"Road wins are important and it feels good to get this one," Egolf acknowledged.

The Prairie Stars continue the season with two conference matches at Kiwanis Stadium. UIS hosts McKendree University (6-0-1, 4-0-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and welcomes the University of Southern Indiana (4-2-2, 2-1-2) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. McKendree is ranked No. 24 in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II poll.

"We are looking forward to being back home next weekend for two more conference matches against solid opponents. It's an important weekend and we need to be ready to go."

PRAIRIE STAR NOTES
Among UIS Division II career leaders, Mraz is tied for fourth in game-winning goals (2) and tied for 10th in points (10).