CARBONDALE � The SIU women’s soccer team picked up the first official win in school history, beat Illinois-Springfield Friday night 2-0. The Salukis went 1-2 in exhibition games, but this one counted.
Freshman Madison Bennion scored the first Saluki goal ten minutes into the opening half. Bennion admitted the historical significance of scoring the first goal in program history probably hadn’t fully hit her yet.
"I’ve been waiting on one in preseason," said Bennion. "My parents flew all the way from California, my dad’s birthday–I did it for him. It was a great moment for me, the team, all of us together. Overall getting that first goal in history is incredible, especially knowing it took the whole team effort to get there."
SIU led 1-0 at the half. In the 53rd minute, another freshman, Emma Spotak found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead, and the defense took it from there to preserve that first win.
"My first thought was about our kids and that’s the first thing I said to them when we got together," SIU head coach Grant Williams said. "I told them that they will remember tonight for the rest of their lives. Obviously, I will too. They came here to be successful and I’m glad that with our first home-opener you get to look at the record and see that we got a win. It certainly built some confidence."
The Salukis are back in action at home Sunday afternoon at 1:00 against North Alabama.
