Aug. 25, 2000

Charleston, Ill. - Illinois head coach Tricia Taliaferro was all smiles Friday. She had many reasons to be pleased with her team's 2-0 opening game win at Eastern Illinois. Illinois out-shot the Panthers 28-2. A pair of freshmen reached the scoring column, and an already solid defense is even more improved.

Illinois took right to the offensive from the opening kickoff, blanking Eastern in the shots department 16-0 in the first half, while bursting to a 2-0 halftime lead. As was the case in 1999, Illinois struck early. Freshman Colleen Joyce dribbled down the center of the field, dished to Hollie Schurr at the wing. Lindsay Johnson took a nice cross from Schurr and blistered a shot from just the right of the net. EIU goalkeeper Jeanine Frederick had to make a great save to prevent the goal. Freshman Tiffani Walker was in position, however, to knock home the rebound shot at the 12:53 mark of the match.

"It's tremendous that we have freshmen who can contribute at this point," said Taliaferro. "Tiffani and Colleen have had a big impact. But overall, we're playing very well as a team. The ones that have been around have been stepping up the level also."

Taliaferro and her maturing Illini put a strong emphasis on finding new ways to score in 2000. That was evident in the millenium opener. Lisa Baldwin diced and blasted her way to a team-high seven shots. Joyce, meanwhile nearly headed the ball in the net toward the late stages of the first half. Illinois also maneuvered its way to eight corner kicks (to just 1 for Eastern Illinois), which turned into numerous opportunities to score.

Illinois got some insurance at the 41:01 mark of the match, when Megan Kolze's shot from the kill zone forced Frederick again to dive right. Another freshman -- this time Joyce -- took advantage and punched it home, making it 2-0.

The only downside was some missed opportunities in the second half, but the coach understands that getting those opportunities so early in the season is extremely positive. "If we weren't creating chances, I would be more worried about not finishing," said Taliaferro.

It seems apparent early in the season that Illinois has many weapons to choose as evident by ten different players registering shots for Illinois, eight of whom had multiple chances.

"We're focusing on not being one dimensional," said Taliaferro. "We've been trying to change the point, get runs in the box, get our corners, attack the flanks, attack down the middle. Now we are dangerous because you're not sure which direction we're going to come from."

Heidi Holtzman was dominant at times on defense and nearly managed a goal herself, with three perfectly placed floaters that had to be deflected. "Heidi has really emerged. She is a captain now. It has helped her confidence You can see her leadership on the field. We missed Becca (Patrick, who missed last year with a knee injury). Having her back on defense is a tremendous asset to us."

Looking for still one more reason to smile consider this. In defeating Marquette in last weekend's exhibition and Eastern on Friday, Illinois has defeated two conference champions from `99, both of whom are favored to win their leagues this season.

Illinois meets Big 12 foe Kansas Sunday in the official home opener. Game time is 2 p.m