Oct. 8, 1999
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
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. The win also secured Illinois? best Big Ten mark in school history with a 3-2-1 mark with four games remaining in the conference season and sets up a showdown Sunday against Penn State, the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
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.
Sunday?s big conference match with Penn State is Sunday at 1 p.m. at Illini Field.
MEDIA NOTE: The Illinois-Penn State match will be broadcast on WDWS-AM 1400 and can be heard on the World Wide Web at www.fightingillini.com.
