Sept. 7, 2001

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini women's soccer team met Syracuse in the nightcap of the Orange and Blue Classic tonight at the Illini Soccer Stadium. It was a tough battle, but the Orangewomen went away with a 2-1 victory.

"Overall we played well, but we got off to a slow start and against a good team like Syracuse you can't do that," head coach Tricia Taliaferro said. "We made some adjustments and stepped up our level of play in the second half. Syracuse was well organized, and they created chances."

Illinois senior Colleen Joyce scored her fourth goal of the season to get the offense going. She knocked a header off a cross kick past Syracuse goalkeeper Shannon Myers at the 25:08 mark. Rebecca Johnson recorded her first assist of the season on the play.

Within the next five minutes, Syracuse scored two goals. Stephanie Sybert and Natalie Galas each hit unassisted goals to put the Orangewomen up 2-1 at halftime.

It was a battle in the second half as 18 fouls were called, 11 against the Illini. Illinois outshot Syracuse 9-8 in the period, but the Illini were unable to score. For the game, the teams matched up with 17 shots apiece.

In the opening contest of the Classic, UCLA beat Louisville 7-0. UCLA and Syracuse meet in the Classic finale at noon on Sunday.

The Illini take their 2-1 record on the road next weekend. Illinois travels to North Texas, the alma mater of assistant coach K.C. Crabb, for a 7 p.m contest on Friday, Sept.14 before meeting Texas in Austin on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m.