The University of Illinois soccer team tied a school record by firing 36 shots on Sunday, however they found the back of the net with only one of those in a 1-1 tie at Illinois State. The Redbirds tied the game in the 89th minute to keep the Illini from picking up their first road win since Sept. 15. With the tie, Illinois moves to 6-10-1 overall and 1-8-1 away from home, while ISU moves to 11-3-2.
Freshman defender Christen Karniski put the Illini up 1-0 in the 41st minute with her first career goal. The Iowa City, Iowa native dribbled down the left side and fired a shot from 20 yards that found the upper-right corner of the net. There was no assist on the play.
The score would remain 1-0 deep into the second half. In the final minutes of regulation, Illinois attempted to stall by trapping the ball in the corner. The tactic worked initially, as UI was able to run a couple minutes off the clock. However, with about 1:30 left in the game ISU was able to gain control of the ball and charged downfield for one last scoring push.
Redbird forward Michelle Brumbaugh dribbled the ball down to the left corner and crossed it to center of the box. The ball made its way through heavy traffic and found Annie Wayland, who chipped it into the upper right corner of the goal to tie the game 1-1 with just 1:02 remaining.
The Illini regained control of the game in overtime and fired eight shots to ISU's one. With 2:41 left in the second overtime, the Illini came with inches of picking up the win. With Illinois in possession of the ball deep in ISU territory, Redbird goalkeeper Allison Farrington slipped and was out of the play, but Andrea Ridgeway's shot from the left end-line slipped just wide of the right post. UI would manage one more shot before time ran out, but Farrington was there to save it.
The story of the game for the Illini, once again, was missed opportunities. The Orange and Blue's 36 shots eclipsed their previous season high by 10 and equaled the school record that was set 10/27/00 vs. Western Illinois and 9/17/01 vs. Marquette. The Orange and Blue's 15 shots on goal matched a season high that was set vs. Butler on Sept. 6. Illini sophomore Tiffani Walker launched 10 shots on the day, which tied her for the individual record for shots in game with Sarah Aberle, Kelly Buszkiewicz and Emily Brown. Illinois State managed 11 shots as a team on Sunday.
ISU goalkeeper Allison Farrington handled the barrage of shots nicely and ended up with 13 saves on the day. Illinois keeper Leisha Alcia came up one minute short of earning her second shutout of the season. The sophomore from Missisauga, Ontario stopped four Redbird shots on the afternoon.
Up Next: The Illini close out the regular season with a pair of home games next weekend. On Friday, Nov. 1 Illinois will host Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Senior Night. The on Sunday, Nov. 3, Illinois and Purdue will make up their game that was cancelled earlier in the season with a 5 p.m. start time.
