Oct. 14, 1999

Brown matches goal total from 1998
Emily Brown failed to score a point in back-to-back games for the first time this season last weekend against Northwestern and Michigan State. Brown returned with a vengence, scoring two second half goals in the Illini?s win over Ohio State, 5-2, on Friday, and another goal in the second half against Penn State Sunday. Brown has already matched the goal total from all of last season (13). Brown tied for the team lead in points with 33 in 1998. Her 13 goals and two assists give her 28 points this season with six regular season matches remaining.

Illinois travels to Indiana, Purdue this weekend
Illinois will try to rebound from a 4-1 setback to Penn State Sunday with games Friday at Indiana and Sunday at Purdue. Indiana is 1-3-3 in the Big Ten and 2-6-6 overall. The Hoosiers only conference win was at Northwestern, 2-1. Indiana has had trouble scoring goals this season with only 11 goals in 13 matches, four of which came in a 4-1 win over Montana. At the same time, Indiana has given up just 16 goals for the year.

Purdue, meanwhile is playing its first season in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers are coming off a 4-0 loss at Minnesota Sunday. Purdue is riding a six-game losing streak, having been outscored 23-1 in that stretch. Purdue had won six straight with its last win coming on Sept. 17 at Northwestern.

First wins over Big Ten opponents this year
In its first two seasons of Big Ten play, Illinois held wins over five of the ten conference schools. This year, the Illini defeated Minnesota (2-1, OT) and Wisconsin (3-1) for the first time in school history. The only Big Ten teams the Illini have yet to beat are Penn State (0-4 in three years), Indiana (0-2), and Michigan (0-3). The Illini have a chance to knockdown the Hoosiers for the first time on Friday.

Conference Tournament Update
At 3-3-1, Illinois is good shape to qualify for its second consecutive Big Ten Tournament. Last year the Illini advanced with a 3-6 mark. Eight of the eleven teams make the field. Currently Illinois is in a tie for fifth place in the league with a 3-3-1 mark, tied with Michigan State and Ohio State. A win or a tie against Indiana would clinch the conference tournament berth for Illinois. A pair of victories could move the Illini to as high as third in the league and could set up a showdown with Iowa on Oct. 22 for conference seeding.

The current Big Ten standings are Michigan 7-0-1, Penn State 6-0-1, Minnesota 5-3-0, Iowa 4-3-0, Illinois 3-3-1, Michigan State 3-3-1, Ohio State 3-3-1, Wisconsin 2-5-1, Indiana 1-3-3, Purdue 1-6-0, Northwestern 0-6-1.

The conference tournament will be held Nov. 4-6 in Bloomington, Ind.

Five goals again vs. OSU
For the second year in a row, Illinois scored five goals against Ohio State. That is the most goals the Illini have scored against a Big Ten opponent and the most goals this season. Illinois also scored five goals in a 5-0 win over Iowa last season.

The Illini and OT
In its 49th career match and 11th overtime in school history, Illinois played to its first tie. The Illini have a 1-3-1 record in overtime this year after going 5-1 in the previous two seasons. Illinois? overtime victory came 2-1 over Minnesota. Illinois played at least one overtime match in four straight weekend.

National Rankings
Illinois entered the national rankings for the first time in school history on Sept. 13 at No. 21 after defeating once-ranked Minnesota and falling in overtime to 22nd ranked Minnesota. The Illini moved up to No. 15 on Sept. 20 and fell from the rankings the next week.

Three Illini opponents are in the rankings this week-- Penn State (5), Michigan (No. 16), and Missouri (22nd). Ohio State also received votes.

The NCAA Tournament consists of 48 teams or ideally eight teams from six regions. Currently Illinois is No. 5 in the Great Lakes Region. The top ten are 1. Notre Dame (8-2-0), 2. Michigan (8-2-1), 3. Kentucky (8-2-1), 4. Ohio State (8-2-2), 5. Illinois (8-3-1), 6. Minnesota (5-5-0), 7. Iowa (7-4-0), 8. Wisconsin (5-5-2), 9. UW-Milwaukee (6-5-1), 10. Marquette (6-4-2).

Two Illini Named BT POW
Illinois has had two of the seven Big Ten "Players of the Week" this year. Lisa Baldwin earned the honor for her three goals in two games on Aug. 27 and 29. Emily Brown earned the honor for the second time in her career for her two game winning goals against Minnesota and Wisconsin. Against the Gophers she deflected a free kick from Kelly Buszkiewicz with her head into the net.

Baldwin returns on fire
After missing four games with a dislocated kneecap, Lisa Baldwin returned with a vengence on Oct. 3 at Northwestern. Baldwin had the game tying goal vs. the Wildcats, then added a goal and an assist against Ohio State. Baldwin had two would-be chances deflected vs. Penn State.

Baldwin has 7 goals and 1 assist for the season.

Heggen starts twice
Sophomore Sarah Heggen returned the nets Friday vs. Penn State, her first Big Ten start for the season. She had three saves against Ohio State and four more vs. Penn State in the first half Sunday. Heggen and senior Amy Bessette give the Illini two solid options in goal.

Freeman, Schuling pose "instant offense"
Freshmen Laura Freeman and Tara Schuling have been dangerous coming off the bench. Many times, the Illini have scored shortly after one or both have come in.

That was no more evident than at Valparaiso. Freeman entered the match at 36:22, then took a free kick from Kelly Buszkiewicz and deposited into the net at the 37:53 mark. In the second half, Freeman entered the game with 25:43 remaining in the second half, then fed Sarah Rowland for a goal just 23 seconds later.

Other Illini tidbits

• Illinois posted its fifth shutout of the season against Valparaiso in just its tenth match. The Illini had four consecutive shutouts earlier in the year.
• Heidi Holtzman has played in every minute of every match as an Illini or 3,188 minutes.
• Kelly Buszkiewicz added to her career lead in assists with another one Sunday vs. Penn State. She has 17 for her career.

Recapping Ohio State
Except for a brief hiccup in the second half, Illinois returned to its home field with a dominating performance. In their first home match since Sept. 19, the Illini built a 3-0 lead and went on to down Ohio State, 5-2.

The Illini have had the Buckeyes number over the last two seasons, winning in Columbus, 5-1 a year ago. Sophomore Lisa Baldwin, who missed four games with a dislocated knee notched her second goal in two games to open the scoring. Baldwin?s rip from 15-feet out off an assist from Laura Freeman got the offensive show going just 7:21 into the match.

"Lisa Baldwin gives us that explosive threat in the middle and creates many of her own opportunities," said head coach Tricia Taliaferro.

Senior Kelly Buszkiewicz countered with a chip shot over the head of the 6-foot-1 Ohio State goalkeeper Amber Barnes off an assist from Hollie Schurr at the 24:05 mark. Two minutes later Schurr?s shot from within the box trickled between the legs of Barnes and gave Illinois what seemed to be an insurmountable lead at 3-0. Baldwin had the assist on the Schurr goal.

The Illini out-shot the Buckeyes, 11-7, in the first half, but that stat quickly became equal early in the second half. The momentum shifted with Ohio State scoring on a Courtney Nein header off a corner kick from Elisa Hamilton at 54:45. The Buckeyes didn?t waste any time with its next tally, scoring on a Katy Trager connection from point blank range at 56:14 and suddenly it was a game.

When the going gets tough, who do you call? Emily Brown. The scintillating sophomore keyed the momentum shift back to the Illini. Held scoreless the past weekend, Brown quickly returned to form with a goal off the chip shot from defender Kim Doetzel at the 63:45 mark. Brown then took a cross from Meghan Kolze and deposited it in the back of the net for the backbreaking goal.

Doetzel, along with freshman Sue Hodson and the "General," Heidi Holtzman, have made great improvements each game according to the coach. "They?ve taken a big step forward and set the tone for our attacks offensively," Taliaferro said.

After the game, Taliaferro reflected on a noticeable refocus from her club. "The game definitely had a different feel," Taliaferro said. "We had a good week of practice and mentally we were ready to play. We solved some of our problems during the last few days."

Sophomore Sarah Heggen got her first start in net for a Big Ten match this year and came through with three big first half saves before the Illini gained the upper hand. Taliaferro also noted the solid effort of Tara Schuling, who started for Julie Schueller, who was under the weather.

Recapping Northwestern
High hopes abounded for the Illinois soccer fans heading in Sunday?s match with Penn State. The Illini were coming off a convincing 5-2 victory over Ohio State on Friday, and had played Sunday?s foe, Penn State, close in three previous career meetings, leading the Nittnay Lions 2-1 until late in the match in Champaign a year ago.

However, thanks to some quick play up front and impressive goaltending from the visiting Nittnay Lions, those hopes were quickly dashed as fifth-ranked Penn State (10-2-1, downed Illinois, 4-1, before 488 faithful fans.

Illinois didn?t have an answer for Penn State freshman sensation Christie Welsh nor senior Courtney Lawson. Welsh beat Illini defenders time and time again to help the Lions build a mesmerizing 4-0 halftime lead.

"They know how to create their opportunities and play the ball well in the air." Taliaferro said. "We let them get the deep balls behind us, and Christie Welsh showed why she is one of the best forwards in the country."

Welsh?s explosiveness resulted in an early goal past Illini?s goaltender Sarah Heggen at the 7:31 mark. Much the same way Illinois had handed Ohio State two nights before, Penn State?s attacking offense scored quickly. Lawson netted the next Lion goal off a penalty kick at the 20:21 mark, then Welsh took a serve from defender Gillian Samuel and deposited it into the back of the net, making it quickly 3-0 just 1:19 later. Samuel again assisted on the fourth and final Penn State goal, which was scored by midfielder Erin Miller at 40:15.

Although the score seemed convincing, Illinois controlled the ball much of the game, out-shooting Penn State 16-13 for the game and 8-3 in the second half. The Illini also had 9 cornerk kicks to Penn State?s 4. That?s when the play of one of the top keepers in the game came in handy. Twice shots from Illinois? Lisa Baldwin seemed headed for the upper part of the net, but Penn State sophomore Emily Oleksiuk (8 saves) deflected both over the net. Oleksiuk also made some nice plays off crossing shots.

"This game was important for us because even though the score may not indicate it, we played right with one of the best teams in the country," added Taliaferro. "We need to learn how to finish on our opportunities and play like we did in the second half for the full 90 minutes."

Illinois continued the pressure in the second half, until finally Emily Brown scored off a direct kick and an assist from Kelly Buszkiewicz at the 81:02 mark of the match. Earlier in the half, Brown had a shot deflected wide.

"The difference in second half was our overall effort," said Taliaferro. "We didn?t make any changes tactically."

Taliaferro noted the progress of midfielder Hollie Schurr and her strong effort on the day. "Hollie has made a lot of strides this year," said the coach. "She served up some great balls in the midfield today."

Illinois falls to 9-4-1 and 3-3-1 in the Big Ten. This was the first Illinois loss that wasn?t in overtime. The Illini take to the road again next weekend for games at Indiana (Friday) and Purdue (Sunday).

Updating Career Records

Goals -- 1. Emily Brown, 26, 2. Lisa Baldwin, 20, 3. Sarah Aberle 16, 4. Kelly Buszkiewicz, 11, 5. Lindsay Johnson, 9.

Assists -- 1. Kelly Buszkiewicz, 16 2. Sarah Aberle, 11, 3. Emily Brown, 9, 4. Rachel Smith, 7, 5. Lindsay Johnson, 6.

Points -- 1. Emily Brown, 55, 2. Lisa Baldwin, 45, 3. Sarah Aberle, 43, 4. Kelly Buszkiewicz, 40, 5. Julie Schueller, 23.

Head Coach Tricia taliaferro
Tricia Taliaferro (first year, 9-4-1) was assistant coach of the Fighting Illini for the past two seasons and shares the same philosophies as her predecessor, Jill Ellis.

Taliaferro had the opportunity to attend the Women?s World Cup title game this fall, which featured many players she competed against in the rugged ACC. A four-year starter and one of the top attacking defenders in the ACC, Taliaferro led the Terps to the first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1995.

She earned All-ACC accolades twice and was named Maryland?s MVP in 1994-95, while leading the club in scoring.

Prior to her accepting the job at Illinois, Taliaferro was a senior instructor at the Soccer Academy, Inc., in Manassas, Va., and an assistant coach at George Mason University.

She regularly is a featured coach at camps and coached the Illinois U-18 State team in 1997-98.

A native of Dallas, Taliaferro is the daughter of the Illini?s 1963 Rose Bowl quarterback Mike Taliaferro. She helped lead the Dallas Sting Soccer Club to the 1990 and 1991 Dallas Cup Championship. Her team also won the state championship and finished second at Regionals in 1989.

Taliaferro was a member of the Soccer Academy United squad which won the 1996 women?s national championship.