Aug. 19, 2000

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A crowd of nearly 400 fans witnessed the first look of the 2000 edition of Illini soccer Saturday. A new scoreboard, fall like temperatures and a winning atmosphere greeted the faithful. The hosts didn't disappoint as Illinois defeated Marquette, 2-1, in a pre-season scrimmage at the Illinois Soccer Field.

"We were fortunate that we could play a team as good as Marquette for a scrimmage," said sophomore midfielder Meghan Kolze. "We played well as a team for so early in the season."

Indeed, three goalkeepers split the 90 minutes evenly, and Head Coach Tricia Taliaferro experimented with several combinations, all while allowing everyone an opportunity to show their skills in competition.

"We have really been mixing it up in practice," noted Taliaferro. "That certainly helped us tonight. I'm not set on a line-up yet, but it was nice to see so many different players contribute."

Illinois pressured Marquette most of the first half and didn't allow a shot from the Golden Eagles until late in the half. Meanwhile, the Illini countered with three corner kicks and five shots on goal in the first 45 minutes.

After knocking at the door, Illinois got on the board with just 2:15 left in the first half. Kolze took a loose ball in front of the Marquette net and flicked it in for the opening goal. "I was just in the right place at the right time," explained Kolze. "Tara (Schuling) gave us a great kick and Sue (Hodson) deflected it slightly for me to put it in the net."

The lone starter who graduated last year, Kelly Buszkiewicz, was on hand, to witness the performance. Buszkiewicz was the corner kick specialist a year ago. Saturday Schuling got most of the corner chances and, as mentioned, was instrumental in the first Illinois goal.

"Tara played with a lot of confidence tonight," said Taliaferro. "We're going to give her an opportunity to see what she can do with the corners."

Schuling took center stage in the second half. A Marquette foul set up a penalty kick for Schuling, who deposited the ball in the upper right corner of the net for a 2-0 Illinois lead at the 70:27 mark of the match.

Marquette actually out-shot Illinois 7-2 in the second half. Jenny Strachota nearly scored for Marquette but a shot from the right side was deflected wide by Illinois goalkeeper Annemarie Hennes, who had three of Illinois' four saves on the evening. The Eagles finally scored at the 72:15 mark when Erin Maysent guided a blistering ball into the net from a tough angle on the right side.

Both teams had breakaway chances toward the end of the contest, but neither could punch another goal across.

Rebecca Patrick had several defender saves in front of a wide-open net for Illinois. Patrick missed all of last year with a torn ACL and showed no ill affects in a starting role. Although just a scrimmage, the win was significant because it came against a team, like Illinois, who was ranked among the region's best teams.

The Illini open the regular season Friday, Aug. 25 at Eastern Illinois before returning home Aug. 27 to meet Kansas.