Seattle, Wash. – Redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws notched her eighth goal of the season on Sunday, lifting Illinois over Portland, 1-0, at the Husky Nike Invitational in Seattle, Wash. Flaws has tallied four game winning goals for UI so far this season, a number that leads the Big Ten.
The two teams went to battle from the start, but neither found the net in the first half of the game. Illinois fired 4 shots in the half: Flaws, Aliina Weykamp and freshman Katie Murray also tallied a shot on goal before the break. Nicole Breece had one shot for the Illini in the first half of the game.
Illinois came out of the break ready to go as Kara Marbury fired the first shot of the second half. Marbury took two shots, both on goal for the Illini on Sunday. The Pilots held off the Illini for most of the second half, but Flaws capitalized on a penalty kick, giving Illinois a 1-0 lead with just over eight minutes left in the game.
Junior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley improves to 5-1 on the season with Sunday's victory. She recorded two saves, stopping both of Portland's shots on goal in the game. The Illini were dominant defensively, allowing the Pilots just seven shots in the game. Portland was unable to capitalize on any of its four corner kicks in the game. Illinois finished with seven shots as a team.
The Illini are back in Champaign, Ill. next weekend, hosting Northern Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Illinois Soccer.
