Sept. 23, 2003
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About Iowa (3-4-1)
Revenge is likely to be on the mind of the Hawkeyes when they take on the Illini this Friday night in Iowa City. Not because the Illini beat them last season, in fact, Iowa won the only head-to-head matchup 2-0 in Iowa City, but because it was Illinois who kept the Hawkeyes from advancing to the Big Ten Tournament on the last week of the 2002 season. After completing their conference season with a mark of 3-6-1, the Hawks stood squarely in the eighth and final tournament slot. The Illini, meanwhile, were 3-6-0, and still had one game left to play vs. 13th ranked Purdue. A win by the Illini in that game, and they would overtake the Hawkeyes for the eighth position. Not only did the UI beat Purdue, but they did so in dramatic fasion. With the game tied 2-2 with less then 30 seconds remaining in regulation, junior Meghan Kolze headed home a Hollie Schurr corner to give Illinois the upset and a trip to Michigan State for the conference tournament.
This weekend, with the conference season just one weekend old, the Hawkeyes (3-4-1, 0-1-1 Big Ten) will be looking for their first conference win. Last week, they battled No. 12 Ohio State to a 1-1 tie and fell to No. 11 Penn State 4-0. Sophomore Katalyn Quinn leads the Iowa offense with five goals so far this season. A pair of freshmen, Danielle Oswald (2 g, 2 a) and Lindsay Phillips (2 g, 1 a), have also been big threats for the Hawkeyes.
Goalkeeper Britta Vogele has been bombarded by a whopping 183 shots (94 SOG) through eight games this season. She has managed to make 70 saves while allowing 13 goals in 629 minutes of action (1.86 GAA). Sunday against Penn State, Vogele face 20 shots on goal and tied a school record with 15 saves in the 4-0 loss.
Iowa is coached by Carla Baker, who is in her second season with the Hawkeyes (14-11-2 record).
Alcia Honored by Big Ten
For the second week in a row an Illini has been named Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Last week defender Meghan Kolze took home the honor, this week, goalkeeper Leisha Alcia shared the award with Purdue goalkeeper Lauren Mason.
Alcia led the Illini to a pair of shutouts against Michigan and Michigan State over the weekend, and has now posted four in a row, a new school record. It is Alcia's third career conference player of the week award.
Getting Defensive
After allowing the most goals in the Big Ten Conference last season, Head Coach Janet Rayfield and the Illini made it a point to concentrate on defense in the off season and in this year's preseason. So far, that commitment to defending appears to have paid off.
Following back-to-back shutouts over the weekend, the Orange and Blue have given up only four goals in eight games and have allowed just 62 shots and 25 shots on goal. The team's four shutouts in a row tie the school record set in 1999, and its 380 consecutive scoreless minutes are just shy of the school record of 392:48, also set in 1999. In UI's 1-0 win over Evansville on Sept. 12, the Illini held their opponent to zero shots for the game for just the second time in school history.
Illini Attempting to Send Away Message
A win at Iowa this weekend would send a big message to the rest of Illinois' away opponents, and would be a huge confidence builder for Janet Rayfield's young squad. The Illini have an all-time record of 20-28-4 on the road, and were just 2-9-1 away from the friendly confines of Illinois Soccer Stadium in 2002. Even worse, Illinois was a dreadful 0-5 vs. Big Ten foes on the road last year. However, this year's squad is trying to turn those numbers around and a win this weekend would be a good place to start. So far this season, the Orange and Blue have played just two games on the road and had moderate success, topping Georgia 2-1, and falling to No. 17 Auburn 2-1 in overtime.
Shooting Range
While the defense has been limiting opponents to just 7.8 shots per game, the offense has been hard at work as well. The Illini have fired 136 shots on the season (17.0 per game), third most in the Big Ten. 55 of those 136 shots (.404) have been on goal, while opponents have put 25 of their 62 (.403) shots on frame. In 2002, Illinois fired 351 shots (16.7 per game), but allowed opponents to launch a whopping 260 (12.4 per game).
In Illnois' 1-0 win over Evansville on 9/12, the Orange and Blue fired 31 shots for the game, the sixth highest single-game total in school history. The school record is 36 in a game, achieved three times, most recently in a 1-1 tie with Illinois State in 2002.
UI vs. the Big Ten Conference
The Illini have compiled a 29-37-4 record against Big Ten foes, including a 5-5 mark in the Big Ten Tournament. Over the last three-plus seasons, Illinois has gone 20-15-2 in conference play, including a trip to the Big Ten Tournament final against Penn State in 2001 and a 4-3 upset win over top-seeded Penn State in the 2002 Big Ten Tournament. In 2002, the Illini finished the regular season with a 4-6-0 record in conference play, marking the first time in program history that the Illini failed to improve on the previous year's conference record. So far this season, Illinois is 1-0-1 in the Big Ten.
Sinak Returns to Action
Illinois center midfielder Christine Sinak returned to action last weekend after missing the previous five games with a hamstring injury she aggrivated in the season opener vs. Oakland. She came off the bench in both games and saw 90 minutes of action (50 vs. Michigan and 40 vs. MSU), while firing a pair of shots vs. MSU. Prior to the injury, the junior from St. Louis, Mo. had started every game of her collegiate career.
Smile! You're on TV
The Fighting Illini Television Network on Insight Market Place will be televising three UI soccer matches on a tape delay basis. The games involved are Illinois State on Sept. 14, Michigan on Sept. 19, Michigan St. on Sept. 21.
The matches will be shown at 8:30 p.m. on the days listed below:
Illinois State - Replayed 9/17-9/23
Michigan - Replayed 9/24-9/30
Michigan State -Replayed 10/1-10/7
Insight Market Place can be seen on Channel 2 in Champaign-Urbana, Channel 13 in Decatur and Channel 5 in Springfield.
Illini Move Up in Regional Rankings...Again
The Illini moved up the fifth spot in the NSCAA/Adidas Great Lakes Region rankings after a pair of shutouts over the weekend. Last week, the Illini held down the eigth position in the poll. Notre Dame claims the top spot in the poll once again, while Big Ten foes Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State and Northwestern also crack the top ten. Big Ten favorite Penn State currently holds the third position in the Mid-Atlantic region rankings.
In additon, the Orange and Blue jumped from ninth to fourth in the Soccer Buzz Great Lakes Region Poll. The Illini also received votes in the Soccer Buzz National Top 25 Poll for the first time this season.
Illini Quotes
Head Coach Janet Rayfield on the importance of coming out of the opening week of Big Ten play without a loss...
"No loses and no goals...that was a huge weekend for us. Michigan and Michigan State are two teams that have been putting the ball in the back of the net. This was huge for our confidence. We told our kids at half time of the MSU game that they need to expect to win this game, and that's the type of attitude that they need to have. Now having done that, it is a whole lot easier to expect that the next time."
