St. Paul, Minn. - Snowy conditions didn't stop Fighting Illini Soccer as they earned the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The Illini posted a 3-1 victory over Minnesota thanks to two goals from redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws. Not only that, but Sophomore Kara Marbury added in a third goal for Illinois helping to secure the win. The Illini will close the regular season with a 10-5-3 record overall and a 4-4-3 record in conference play.
"The weather was a challenge and Minnesota was a challenge," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "But tonight we came to the field ready to work as hard as we could and let the result take care itself. We have talked about the gritty, competitive, cohesive team we want to be, and tonight we showed that we can be that team. We are happy to have more games to play, and the goal now is for that gritty team to show up and compete again."
Battling through the snowy, wet weather, the Illini and the Gophers remained scoreless through the first half of play in St. Paul. The Illini fired three shots on goal in the first half, holding Minnesota to just one.
The difference would come in the second half as Flaws recorded two goals for the Illini within minutes of each other. The first score came off of a free kick awarded to the Illini just outside the box. Flaws bent the ball around the Gopher wall and found the back of the net. She then followed up by converting a penalty kick in the 64th minute of play. The goals bring her season tally up to 11.
Minnesota was able to get a goal of their own in the 70th minute of the game, but sophomore Kara Marbury beat the Gopher keeper in the 85th minute to add a third goal for the Orange and Blue and secure the Illini victory.
UI turned up the intensity in the second half of play, tallying 10 shots after the break. Junior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley tallied five saves in the game as the Illini allowed the Gophers just six shots on goal in the match. The Illini put 11 shots on frame and forced two corner kicks on the night.
Illinois will be making it's fifth-straight Big Ten Tournament appearance and the 16th in program history this weekend. The Illini are set to face No. 1 seed Penn State in the first round of the tournament, and this will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The game will be held at University Park, Pa. on Nov. 1 with game times to come.
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest as the Illini continue postseason play.
