Oct. 29, 2000

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois Head Coach Tricia Taliaferro couldn't have asked for a better way to end the regular season heading into the Big Ten Tournament. After shutting out Western Illinois, 8-0, on Friday, the Illini handed Iowa State a convincing 6-1 defeat on Sunday.

With a 12-6 overall record, the Illini tie a school-record for wins in a season, but have done it in two fewer games. Sophomore Lindsay Johnson, who was arguably the hottest player on last year's team at the end of the year, emulated that feat Sunday with two goals and an assist. Johnson has been big at setting up players with fives assists on the season coming into the game, but she had just one goal heading into the day.

"Lindsay Johnson came to me before the game and said `I'm ready to play,'" said Taliaferro. "She proved that with her play on the field today."

Colleen Joyce has really come on late in the year as well. Joyce has five of her 10 goals in the past three weekends. She ranks second on the team in both goals (10) and points (23). Joyce likewise had two goals and on an assist on Sunday. She assisted on the first Johnson goal at 16:08, then scored a breakaway goal at 19:55, making it 2-0 Illinois.

Those two goals gave the Illini momentum the rest of the way. Tiffani Walker was careful to remain onside on a serve into the zone, took the ball one-on-one, beat the Iowa State goalkeeper, then dumped an easy shot into the net with just 6:11 left in the first half to make it 3-0, her sixth goal of the season.

Johnson had everyone talking about a possible hat trick with a goal in the second minute of the second half. After an Iowa State goal by Annie Henley, Johnson however, fed good friend and teammate Joyce for the next goal at 58:27. Lisa Baldwin's lead pass also helped set up the fifth goal of the day, her team-leading seventh assist of the year.

Laura Freeman scored her second goal of the weekend to close out the scoring at 79:43. That gives Illinois 14 goals on the weekend and 51 goals for the year, the most goals in a season since scoring 56 goals in the first year of the program in 1997.

Before the game, Illinois honored its two seniors, Julie Schueller and Laura Lantz. Those two women are the only two to play all four years for the Illini.

The Illini out-shot an opponent for the 16th time in 18 games, 16-14. The game was physical with 29 fouls (17 on Illinois) and five yellow cards.

Illinois hosts the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. The Illini are the fourth seed and will play Michigan State at First and Stadium Field at 11 a.m. Thursday. Other quarterfinal match-ups are #1 Penn State vs. #8 Minnesota, #3 Michigan vs. #6 Iowa, and #2 Wisconsin vs. #7 Purdue.