Oct. 8, 2000

Columbus, Ohio - For the third straight year, Illinois put on a dominating performance against Ohio State in women's soccer. Behind two goals from junior forward Emily Brown, the Illini shutout the Buckeyes, 4-0 in Columbus Sunday afternoon.

Illinois has now out-scored Ohio State 14-3 in the last three years, winning 5-1 in Columbus in 1998 and 5-2 in Champaign last season. The Illini improved to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. The four conference victories are the most in the four-year history of the Illinois soccer program. Illinois also posted its second Big Ten road win of the year, the first time an Illini team has accomplished that feat.

"This was a great game for us," said Illinois Head Coach Tricia Taliaferro. "We definitely took some positive out of Penn State and used them against Ohio State. It was a total team effort and everyone contributed to the win."

The Illini out-shot an opponent for the 12th time in the 13 games in 2000 and did so again in dominating fashion, 25-11, including a 10-1 advantage in shots on goal. Illinois also had seven corner kicks to Ohio State's 3.

Brown reached a milestone on Sunday with goals number 39 and 40 for her career. Not only is that tops on the Illinois charts, but also now fifth most in Big Ten history. Rachel Hoffman of Penn State holds the record with 58 goals from 1994-97.

The first goal combination was no strange one to Illinois fans. Junior Lisa Baldwin dribbled down the field, played give and go with Emily Brown, then Brown found the back of the net at 19:19. For Baldwin, that marked the fifth assist on the year, which leads the team.

Freshman Kelly Walker made it 2-0 Illinois at the half with her first career goal as an Illini on a shot that deflected off the Buckeye goalkeeper and trickled into the net.

It didn't take long for Illinois to reach the scoring column in the second half when Brown connected on her ninth goal in the last ten games just 2:14 into the second period. Colleen Joyce fed Tara Schuling for the final Illinois goal at 55:34. Schuling fired a shot from 15 yards out for her fourth goal of the year.

Freshman Sarah Anderson got the start in net and raised her record to 3-0 and posted one save.

As we come down the home stretch in the Big Ten, Illinois finds itself in a wild scramble for places 2-7. Heading into a big home weekend vs. Purdue and Indiana this weekend, the Big Ten Standings look like this: Penn State, 6-0, Michigan, 4-2, Michigan State, 4-2-1, Wisconsin 5-3, Illinois 4-3, Purdue 4-3, Minnesota 4-3, Iowa 2-5, Indiana 1-5-1, Northwestern 1-5, and Ohio State 1-6. Kickoff for the showdown with Purdue is 7 p.m. Friday.