Sept. 5, 1999
Morgantown, W.Va. - The University of Illinois soccer team left Champaign Thursday night on a mission to capture the First Annual Mountaineer Cup. Mission accomplished. Sunday in the championship game of the tournament hosted by West Virginia University, the Illini blanked Duquesne, 3-0. The win improved Illinois? record to 4-0 and marked the team?s third shutout of the season.
The Illini followed the script of two of the previous three matches -- score early and put all the pressure on the opposition. In the opening win over regionally-ranked Marquette, Illinois? Emily Brown scored just 6:09 into the match. Brown netted her team?s first goal with just 1:45 of elapsed time in her club?s 2-0 win over West Virginia in the tournament?s first round Friday.
Sunday vs. Duquesne it was junior Sarah Rowland?s turn to ignite the team. Rowland stripped a defender and marched to an unassisted goal just 2:03 into the match. Freshman Laura Freeman notched her first career goal off a corner kick and assist from Hollie Schurr at the 32:28 mark, then assisted sophomore Emily Brown on the Illini?s third and final goal at 41:44 of the first half. Illinois led 3-0 at intermission.
?We have come out focused and mentally prepared for each match,? explained head coach Tricia Taliaferro of the early quick starts
Brown has scored in each of the first four Illinois matches, breaking an Illinois record for consecutive games with a goal, breaking her own mark of three set from Sept. 6-13 of last year. In the process, Brown ties sophomore teammate Lisa Baldwin for the most goals in an Illinois career with her 17th.
For the fourth straight game, sophomore Sarah Heggen and Senior Amy Bessette split time in goal, each playing a half. Heggen started her second straight match.
The Illini were simply dominant defensively, allowing no Duquesne shots on goal, while amassing 18 shots themselves, led by five shots from Baldwin and four by Brown.
?We?re excited about the weekend,? added Taliaferro. ?It was nice to accomplish something we set out to achieve all week.?
Illinois has started the season 4-0 for the third consecutive year. The Illini started last year with five straight wins before dropping a heartbreaker to Penn State. Next up for Illinois is a meeting with Boston University at the Northwestern Tournament on Friday, then a game at home with Missouri at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Missouri upset No. 14 Michigan, 4-1 today in Columbia to improve to 3-1 on the season.
