The University of Illinois women's soccer team dominated 25th ranked Cincinnati to earn a well deserved 3-0 victory on Sunday evening at Illini Soccer Field. The defense was spectacular, allowing the Bearcats just one shot on goal for the game. With the win, the Illini are now 2-2-0 on the season while Cincinnati drops to 3-1-0.

Illinois sophomore Tara Hurless got the Illini off to a great start when she took a pass from Alaree Gunville, broke away from the defense and scored to put the Illini up 1-0 only 1:12 into the game. It was Hurless' fourth goal on the season and Gunville's second assist.

The score remained 1-0 for most of the half and it looked like that's how the game would stand at the break. But as time winded down, Illinois midfielder Hollie Schurr took a corner kick for the Illini and Meghan Kolze headed it towards the goal. Cincinnati keeper Tracy Hale made the save, but Illinois forward Tiffani Walker was there to punch home the rebound with just :04 left on the clock to put the Illini up 2-0 going into halftime.

The second half gave the orange and blue defense a chance to shine. The Illini didn't allow a shot in the second half until the 88:00 mark. For the game, the Bearcats managed just four shots, only one of which was on goal. On the flip side, Illinois fired 23 shots on the night, with 8 of those on goal. Illinois goalkeeper Leisha Alcia tallied one save on her way to her fourth career shutout.

The Illini sealed the victory in the 85th minute, when Hurless fired from 10 yards out and scored to set the final score at 3-0. It was Hurless' fifth goal on the season and fourth in the last two games. Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield is happy that Hurless, the team's leading returning scorer from last season, is back to her goal scoring ways. "I talked to Tara after the first weekend and told her to go at people and start being the goal scorer she can be," said Rayfield. "She's done that, and it has opened up things for other people as well."

The Illini began the season 0-2 by losing close games to Missouri and Kentucky at the Nike Tiger Invitational, but bounced back with a 4-2 win over Butler on Friday night and the 3-0 win on Sunday. Coach Rayfield is proud of how her team responded from the first two games. "This weekend was huge for us," Rayfield said. "Missouri/Kentucky was a great first weekend for us because it showed us the holes that we had. For the team to turn around and fix those holes in seven days and completely be a different team this weekend shows that this team has a lot of potential."

"This was a huge weekend for us," continued Rayfield. "Tonight was a great win, Cincinnati was having a great season and will continue to have great season. We hope they continue to do well, because I think that sends a signal that Illinois is in the mix of things this year. "

Up Next: Illinois travels to Fairfax, Va. for the George Mason Invitational next weekend. The Illini will take on William & Mary on Friday, Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. and George Mason on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. Following that, the orange and blue will travel to Michigan State on Sept. 20 and Michigan on Sept. 22. The Illini return home on Friday, Sept. 27 to face Dayton.