Oct. 16, 2005

Final Stats

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois played one of its best defensive games of the season but had trouble finishing offensively as it tied Michigan State 0-0 in front of 435 fans at Illinois Soccer Stadium. Lindsey Carstens collected a career-high six saves as the Illini registered their fifth shutout of the season and first since Sept. 16. It was only the fourth time all season MSU has been shut out.

"It was just one of those typical Big Ten battles where nobody could break the other one down and no one was going to give up," Illinois coach Janet Rayfield said. "They defended well and kept us from getting behind them. We defended well and battled hard."

The stars of the day for both teams were the goalkeepers, as both Carstens (West Chester, Ohio) and MSU's Nicole Galas registered six-save shutouts. Carstens' stonewalling was her fifth shutout of the season, pushing her into a tie for the third-most season shutouts in Illinois history.

Illinois (8-4-3 overall, 4-2-1 in the Big Ten) looked scattered off the start, allowing two Spartan corner kicks in the first minute and two shots on goal in the first five minutes, but did not give up a goal. The Illini settled down after that, permitting only one more shot on goal the rest of the half as the teams were scoreless through 90 minutes.

The Orange and Blue clamped down defensively in the second half as they kept Michigan State (9-3-4, 5-1-1) from attempting a shot until the 81:57 mark, a stretch of 39:03 without a shot by the Spartans stretching back into the first half. Illinois missed a golden opportunity in the 86th minute when midfielder Jamie Alvis (Cypress, Calif.) fed midfielder Marti Desjarlais (Pewaukee, Wis.), who was making a run from the left side of the box. But the ball slipped under Desjarlais' shooting foot and out of bounds, leaving the game knotted 0-0.

The Illini had another great scoring chance in the second overtime when a serve sailed just over a soaring Ella Masar's (Urbana, Ill.) head, as Masar had a great shot lined up from eight yards out.

Illinois lost the corner kick battle for only the second time all season, MSU notching three to the Illini's two corners, which both came with less than a minute left in the second overtime. Still, the Orange and Blue managed a 21-10 shooting dominance in the game.

"We haven't had a shutout since early in the season, so it's a great feeling to have one," Carstens said. "The defense did awesome today. We just have to put together offense and defense and get a win."

The Illini make a swing through Indiana next weekend, facing the Hoosiers at 7 p.m. Friday and traveling to Purdue for a 1 p.m. game Sunday in the second-to-last Big Ten weekend. With 13 conference points, Illinois is guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten tournament, but can still improve its seeding in the final two league weekends.