Illinois Soccer Notes
Champaign, Ill. - The 2015 soccer season holds many high hopes for the Fighting Illini as the team will return nine starters from last year's squad. The Illini finished last season with a 10-8-2 record, appearing in the program's 11th Big Ten Championship under head coach Janet Rayfield.
The team has wasted no time in preparing for the season. The Illini reported to campus on Aug. 5 and got straight to business.
"Preseason practices have been going great so far," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "Our girls crushed the team standards when it came to fitness testing (done the first week of preseason practices). Since then, we have been able to focus more on putting together the pieces of the puzzle from a soccer perspective. It's great that we have been able to focus on that since day one. It's not about getting them fit or getting them ready, it's been about getting them together as a team and that has been awesome."
Illinois took a preseason trip to Michigan early on, good not only for some team bonding, but also to size up against the nation's best.
"We played two of the best teams in the country, Virginia and Notre Dame," Rayfield said of the exhibition matchups held Aug. 14 and Aug. 16. "We wanted to test ourselves right away and poke some holes in our game to figure out exactly what it is that we need to work on in these last few days leading up to the regular season."
The Orange and Blue will open regular season play on Aug. 21, hosting Oakland in a 7 p.m. contest. The game will also welcome back Illini alum Vanessa DiBernardo in addition to some of her teammates from the Chicago Red Stars.
Following Friday's match against Oakland, Illinois will then travel to Illinois State for its first road match of the year. The Illini will then host a home series with TCU and Saint Louis before heading to the West Coast to face soccer powerhouses Washington and Portland in the Husky Invitational.
Big Ten play begins with a trip to Indiana and Purdue following a home contest against Northern Kentucky. The Illini will face only 12 of the 14 teams in the league prior to Big Ten Tournament play as Wisconsin and Penn State do not appear on the 2015 slate.
"It will be interesting to see how this Big Ten season shapes up, Rayfield said of the new scheduling format. "It will be the first time that we haven't played everybody in our conference leading up to the Big Ten Tournament. Results are going to be varied among the teams in the conference. Big Ten standings are going to be a fun to follow this fall."
The Illini will host both Rutgers and Maryland at the end of September before opening October against Ohio State. UI will then travel to Michigan and Michigan State beginning on Oct. 8, before hosting three-straight games through mid-October. Illinois welcomes Iowa, Nebraska and Northwestern before closing the regular season at Minnesota.
The Big Ten Tournament will also follow a different format this season, mimicking the NCAA Tournament format. Big Ten quarterfinal games will be hosted by the highest seeds on Nov. 1. The semifinal and championship rounds will then be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8, respectively.
Returning among the Illini's veteran starting lineup is standout Jannelle Flaws, who was granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. A two-time Big Ten Forward of the Year, Flaws will be looked to as a leader for the Illini on the field.
"She has an amazing amount of experience," Rayfield said of Flaws' advantages in the game. "Even the years that she didn't get to perform you could tell she was still learning. Jannelle is certainly a leader on the field, he is one of the most competitive people; she will do whatever she can to help get the win. She leads that competitive charge for us and that's an important quality for our team if we want to be successful at this level."
With 17 goals on the season in 2014, Flaws led the Big Ten and tied for 12th in the nation. She currently sits just five goals away from holding the school's career goals record as the current mark of 47 career goals is held by 2004 graduate Tara Hurless.
With a slew starters returning for this season, the veteran Illini squad is looking to its freshman class to add an extra edge to the program.
"We return a lot of experience," Rayfield said. "It's a tough time for our underclassmen to get on the field, but on the other hand, we have a strong freshman class who challenges that experience. We have seen in practice that everybody is challenging each other to get on the field. When you have experienced players and new players that can challenge that experience, it creates a formula for a really competitive squad. We're excited for that."
The Illini add six newcomers in redshirt sophomore Emily Ordonez who joined the team this past spring and freshmen Lauren Ciesla, Patricia George, Morgan Maroney, Katie Murray and Caroline Ratz. The younger sister of sophomore Katherine Ratz, Caroline was an All-State and All-District selection in her senior season.
Murray brings Olympic Development and National Team experience to Illinois from Cincinnati, Ohio, while Maroney was also an early enrollee at the university after being named MVP of the Colorado Rush for two straight years. George is an athletic forward who collected varsity letters in track and field, cross country and basketball in addition to soccer, and Ciesla has championship experience as she led her high school to three IHSA Regional titles and appeared at the U.S. Soccer National Championships twice in her career.
The Illini will have two experienced goalkeepers this season as both Claire Wheatley and Michelle Denley return for 2015. Wheatley showed great improvement in the 2014 season as she allowed only 19 goals as compared to 50 in her freshman season. Denley was able to get some minutes under Wheatley's wing last season, earning two starts in three games played.
The Illini forwards will be led by the experienced Flaws and Nicole Breece, who led the team with seven assists in the 2014 season and was named a Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch. The two seniors will be joined by freshmen George and Caroline Ratz, in addition to sophomore Kara Marbury who spent her summer playing with the Seattle Sounders Women.
The UI midfielders will look to senior Reagan Robishaw and junior Allison Stucky for leadership this season. The duo fired a combined 51 shots and 18 on goal last season. Senior Anastasia Medellin and junior Ali Abu-Douleh will also bring their experience to the midfield, while Taylore Peterson will return to the lineup after sitting out in 2014.
The defense will be led by returning starter Hope D'Addario, another Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch. D'Addario will be joined by senior Aliina Weykamp, who started in each of her 18 appearances during the 2014 season.
The Illini will continue play on Sunday at Illinois State in a 7 p.m. contest. Live stats will be available for the game and a full recap will be posted on FIGHTINGILLINI.com following the match.
