Sept. 8, 2000
Soccer coach Tricia Taliaferro and players comment following Friday's win over Evansville.
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
The focus all week has been finishing for Illinois women's soccer. The Illini out-shot Syracuse 22-7 a week ago, yet lost 3-0. Friday night at home Illinois again dominated the shot department (27-8), but this time posted a 3-2 victory over Evansville in front of 485 fans.
The win was significant because Evansville (3-2) came into the contest ranked tenth in the Great Lakes Region, while the Illini were seventh. Illinois improves to 3-1 on the season.
"We worked a lot, especially Sunday when we came back from Syracuse, on finishing under pressure and I think it paid off tonight," said Illinois Head Coach Tricia Taliaferro. "We weren't worried about blasting one in. It was just beating the keeper."
Freshman Sarah Anderson made her first collegiate start in goal for Illinois and got some solid tests from an aggressive Evansville attack. Although Anderson allowed the two goals, she made two diving saves and four overall on the night. She also was key in corralling the ball early in the attack avoiding a would-be rush.
"Sarah was asked to come into a role that's difficult," said Taliaferro. "Anytime you're a freshman starting for the first time, it can be a little nerve racking. I thought she did really well."
As has been the case most of the year, Illinois dominated the match, especially the first half. The Illini sprung to a quick 10-2 advantage in shots and scored just 3:29 into the match. Illinois fed the box on numerous occasions on the night. When the ball is the air, few are better than Illini junior Emily Brown of heading it in. That was the case on the first goal of the evening. Lindsay Johnson served the ball from about 20 yards to a leaping Brown who knocked in her first goal of the season.
"I finally got a header on target," said Brown. "If you keep working at it, you'll finally get one. We got more quality opportunities tonight."
Despite the lopsided shot differential, Evansville retaliated with a goal of its own at 16:00. Kristen Prom got behind the Illinois defense, dribbled in and fired a shot from just inside the goalkeeper box to tie the score.
The momentum began to even out late in the half. That's when a pair of freshman hooked up to give Illinois the lead back. Jennifer Smith, who had checked in moments before, fed Colleen Joyce from the left side. Joyce sent a strategically placed ball to the upper right corner of the net to give Illinois the lead with just 1:08 left in the first half. That play put the momentum back in Illinois' favor heading into the half.
A veteran stepped in to extend the Illinois lead. The Illini reversed the field nicely with Lindsay Johnson sailing a ball toward the right side to Tara Schuling. Uncontested, Schuling lofted the ball perfectly over the keeper's head from 25 yards out, making it 3-1 at the 56:03 mark of the game.
"Tara played phenomenal," said Taliaferro. "She's a big reason why we beat Evansville. We've been working on shooting from different angles. She did what she had to beat the Evansville goalkeeper."
The Purple Aces had moments when they put sudden pressure on the Illinois defense. That was that case at 66:20 when Evansville's Niki Watkins fed a streaking Prom who scored to cut the lead in half. Illinois kept calm the rest of the way and took control from there. Lisa Baldwin and Brown each had shots that went just wide, and Evansville goalkeeper had some key saves (13 in all) or the score could have been more for Illinois.
The Illini meet in-state foe Northern Illinois Sunday at 2p.m. at the Illinois Soccer Field
