Aug. 27, 1999

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. -

The writer couldn?t have scripted it any better. First night under a new field with a new coach culminates in a victory for the home team. That was the storyline as Illinois defeated Marquette, 3-1 under the lights of the new Illini Soccer Field tonight. The win marked the beginning of the Tricia Taliaferro era at Illinois as the two-year assistant began her first season as the head coach at Champaign. The new field attracted some 878 spectators, and the Illini sent them home happy.

It didn?t take long for Illinois to get on the board. Just 6:09 into the match, Emily Brown redirected a Sarah Rowland shot into the net to give Illinois the early lead.

?We changed her position to a spot where she could be a consistent playmaker for us,? noted Taliaferro. ?She really came to play and was leader out there tonight for us.

Brown was indeed Illinois? offensive spark with a team-leading 7 shots on goal. Lisa Baldwin, last year?s leading scorer, picked up right where she left off, converting Illinois? second goal at the 31:22 mark off a fast break and a feed from Lindsay Johnson.

From there the defense kicked in. Heidi Holtzman?s relentless play kept Marquette at bay the rest of the first half. The Marquette attack beat Illini goalkeeper Amy Bessette, and the Golden Eagles? Katherine Ward and Kelly Roethe each had strong scoring chances, but Holtzman knocked the first shot out with a header, and Roethe?s rebound sailed just wide of the net.

?The Little General didn?t back down,? Taliaferro said. ?She came through consistently for us all night in key situations.

?The first goal let us play loose and relieved some of the stress,? added the coach. ?We played at a good speed all night. We?ve been building for this the last two weeks.?

Marquette finally broke through at the 58:29 mark on a breakaway goal by Katherine Ward assisted by Roethe. The Illini thwarted a pair of free kick chances midway through the second half then scored an insurance goal at the 60:19 mark to take the wind out of the Marquette sails. Freshman Tara Schuling, inserted just moments before, scored on an assist by Rowland, her second assist of the night.

?There are some things here or there we can work on, but overall this was a great first match for us,? said the coach.

Illinois outshot Marquette, 16-12, and had six corner kicks to four for the visitors.

The Illini host Eastern Illinois Sunday at 1 p.m.