Nov. 2, 2001

Final Stats

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini women's soccer team completed the regular season defeating Northern Illinois, 3-1. Illinois improves to 10-6-1 overall.

The first half was a defensive battle, as neither team scored in the opening stanza. The Illini fired 10 shots in the first period while holding the Huskies to just four attempts.

Early in the second half, both teams engaged in a scoring rampage. Laura Freeman put the Illini on the board in the 58th minute when she knocked in a cross pass from Lindsay Johnson. Two minutes later, Northern knotted the game at one when Katie Klass scored the only Huskie goal of the day. Illinois took the lead for good less than five minutes later when Tara Hurless and Colleen Joyce set Tara Schuling up for the score. At the 66:03 mark, Freeman took a free kick and found Hurless who connected on the Illini's final goal of the contest, giving the Illini a 3-1 advantage.

The Illini will spend the next few days practicing in preparation for the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois opens the conference tournament with a rematch against Iowa at 12:45 p.m. on Thurs., Nov. 8 in West Lafayette, Ind.