Nov. 8, 2001
Final Stats
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In driving rain, freshman Tara Hurless scored three goals in her first Big Ten Conference Tournament contest to lead the Illini past the Iowa Hawkeyes, 4-1, in the opening round of the 2001 tournament. The Illini improve to 11-6-1 overall.
"I was nervous this morning, but then it started raining. I love playing in the rain. That calmed me down. I love the rain because it's unpredictable," Hurless said.
As for recording the hat-trick in her first tournament contest , Hurless added: "I didn't expect it. It was a team effort. Without their help, I wouldn't have been able to score the goals."
The Illini fell behind early when Iowa's Sarah Lynch netted a pass from Nicholle Taylor at the 15:14 mark. It was all Illinois from there as Hurless found her groove.
In the 23rd minute, Heidi Holtzman and Laura Freeman teamed up to assist Hurless on her first goal, which tied the game at one. The score remained knotted into halftime.
After the break, Hurless and the Illini came out firing. Just 2:03 into the second period, Hurless found the back of the net for the second time on an unassisted shot. Two minutes later, she completed the hat-trick by scoring her third straight goal on a shot over the goalkeepers head on an assist from Tara Schuling.
Freeman capped off the Illinois scoring when she headed in a corner kick by Lindsay Johnson at the 79:40 mark to give the Illini the 4-1 victory.
The Illini out-shot the Hawkeyes by a 24-8 margin.
"Obviously I am very pleased," head coach Tricia Taliaferro said. "Any time you can score four goals in the Big Ten Tournament it is an accomplishment. We played with a lot of discipline and a lot of heart. We executed our game plan and we came back after we were down. Hopefully this will build the momentum for tomorrow. We played Michigan to the wire in a good game earlier this year, and Friday's game should be another good one."
With the win, the Illini move on to the tournament semi-finals for the third straight year. Illinois faces Michigan at 1 p.m. (ET) Friday at the Varsity Soccer Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.
