Oct. 19, 2005
Week Nine Notes in PDF Format
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Looking Ahead
Illinois heads into the second-to-last conference weekend already having clinched a berth in the Big Ten tournament but still fighting for seeding position. The Illini sit in fifth place in the conference as they travel to Indiana and No. 20 Purdue, a pivotal stretch for tournament positioning.
Leading Off
• Illinois Trends: The Fighting Illini are...
...2-1-1 against ranked teams this season
...9-10-2 vs. ranked teams under Janet Rayfield
...7-0-0 when scoring two or more goals
...5-1-0 when ahead at halftime
...7-1-1 when scoring first
...2-3-1 on the road this season
• Scouting the Hoosiers
If Illinois is in a pivotal point in the season, Indiana is in a critical position. The Hoosiers are currently eighth in the conference standings at 2-5-0 (6-8-1 overall), the last spot to qualify for the Big Ten tournament. Indiana holds a one-game lead over ninth-place Northwestern, but is only two points ahead of the Wildcats because of ties. Indiana needs to collect three points in its final three games against Illinois, Iowa and Purdue to clinch a tournament berth. In all games, Indiana has scored the fewest goals and allowed the fourth-most of any Big Ten school this season. Despite their poor record, the Hoosiers have kept fighting, as all but one of their Big Ten games has been decided by one goal. The lone exception was a 2-0 loss at Penn State in the conference opener. Indiana hasn't found a consistent goalkeeper, as both Lauren Fabbro and Stacey Van Boxmeer have played nearly equal time. However, Van Boxmeer has faced 26 more shots and allowed seven more goals than Fabbro in only 26 more minutes played.
• Scouting the Boilermakers
No. 20 Purdue continues to roll through the Big Ten after a slow start to the season. The Boilermakers opened the year 1-4, but strung together winning streaks of four and five games around a loss at Penn State to reach 10-5-0, 6-1-0 in the Big Ten, and garner a No. 20 ranking by the NSCAA. Purdue has been solid all around, scoring the second-most goals in Big Ten games and allowing the third-fewest. Two-time conference Player of the Week Jessica Okoroafo leads the Boilers with nine goals and is third in the league with six goals in conference games. Lauren Sesselmann has seven season goals, five in the Big Ten. Purdue is an efficient team, averaging 2.43 goals per game on only 13.29 shots per game. In comparison, Illinois averages 1.86 goals and 19.86 shots. Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Lauren Mason is in goal for the Boilers, coming off a weekend where she shut out Wisconsin and recorded seven saves in a 2-1 overtime win against Northwestern.
Looking Back
The Illini scored early and in a flurry to take down Michigan 3-2 at Illinois Soccer Stadium last Friday. Eva Strickland got Illinois on the board in the third minute with a header to the far post off a cross from Kristy Weeks. Strickland's goal at 2:14 marked the second straight game the Illini scored in the third minute of the game. Illinois gave up two goals to the Wolverines in the 25th and 29th minutes to trail 2-1 at halftime, but fought back with two quick goals after the break. Natasha Karniski scored her fifth goal of the season at 48:45 off a header pass from Emily Zurrer following a corner kick to tie the game 2-2. Jessica Bayne scored only 41 seconds later, notching her fifth goal unassisted at 49:26, giving the Illini their eventual 3-2 winning margin.
Illinois started slowly on Sunday against Michigan State, allowing two corner kicks in the first minute and two shots on goal in the first five minutes but coming out unscathed. The Illini settled down and made it to halftime in a scoreless tie. Illinois controlled the game with its defense in the second half but couldn't push across a goal in 110 minutes as the game ended 0-0 after two overtimes.
Series History
Illinois has dominated both Indiana and Purdue in recent years. The Illini hold an all-time 4-2-2 record against the Hoosiers, but have won four of the last five games and haven't lost since 1998. Illinois leads the series with Purdue 5-1-2 and is 4-0-2 in the last six meetings. The Illini's only loss in the series was a 1-0 defeat at West Lafayette in 1999.
Struck by Strickland
Junior forward Eva Strickland strung together a streak that will go down in Illini history earlier this season. The Seattle, Wash., native notched an assist in six straight games from Sept. 16-Oct. 7, shattering the old record of three that was held by two players. Her eight-game consecutive point streak from Sept. 9-Oct. 7 also ties Emily Brown's record set in 2000. Strickland is also one of the most efficient Illini, scoring four goals on a mere 11 shots on goal, or one goal per 2.75 shots on frame.
Once, Twice, Three...Shoot
Following a slow start to the season, Illinois' offense has picked up the scoring punch, mostly because of its increased number of shots and shots on goal. In the last nine games, the Illini have averaged 20.8 shots per game and 8.4 shots on goal. That compares to 13.8 shots and 5.3 on frame in the first six games of the season.
Rayfield Honing in on Mark
Illini coach Janet Rayfield currently has 49 wins in only her fourth season at the helm. She became the winningest coach in the short history of the program last season with her 39th win but continues to build her legacy. A win at Indiana or Purdue would give her 50 in her time at Illinois. The victory over Michigan was Rayfield's 20th Big Ten win in less than four seasons.
Catch Them If You Can
Throughout the season, Illinois has been hard to beat when it gets an early lead. The Illini are 5-1-0 when leading at halftime and 7-1-1 when scoring first, with the loss in each category coming Oct. 9 at Minnesota. Besides the Gophers, only Stanford and Wisconsin have been able to catch Illinois after it grabbed a lead, as the Cardinal tied the Illini 1-1 in the City by the Bay Classic and the Badgers forced overtime before falling 3-2 to Illinois.
They're Gonna Do One More
Showing the parity in the Big Ten, six of Illinois' seven conference games and eight games this season have been decided by only one goal. The Illini hold a 5-3 record in those games.
Overtime is the Right Time
With a tie against Michigan State, Illinois continues its overtime undefeated streak. The Illini have won or tied each game in which they have played extra time. Illinois' overtime record is 2-0-3 on the season.
Bucking the Trend
For the first time all season, Illinois fought back from a halftime deficit to collect a 3-2 win against Michigan. The Wolverines grabbed a 2-1 lead in the 29th minute, but the Illini responded with two goals in the first five minutes after halftime to take the lead for good. Illinois is now 1-3-0 when trailing at halftime.
Major Bayne
After starting the season slowly, junior Jessica Bayne has picked up her scoring, tallying 11 of her team-leading 14 points in the last six games. Bayne had a breakout weekend against No. 16 Wisconsin and Northwestern scoring three goals, including the game-winner against the Wildcats.
Illini Stats Stack Up
Illinois continues to rank near the top of the Big Ten statistically, as the Illini are now tied for the conference lead in shots and corner kicks, fourth in goals allowed and third in shutouts in all games. Eva Strickland is third in all games with six assists and Lindsey Carstens is third with five shutouts and fourth with a 1.00 GAA. In conference games only, the Illini rank second in shots, third in assists, fourth in goals and fourth in points. Jessica Bayne is fifth in Big Ten games with five goals, sixth in shots, and seventh in points (10). Strickland and Christen Karniski are each second in the league in assists (4) and Strickland ranks ninth in points with eight.
Rookies, Rookies Everywhere
For multiple reasons, Illinois has asked a lot of its freshman, and they have come through repeatedly. Defender Emily Zurrer already has two game-winning goals to her credit, knocking in the golden goal against Wisconsin and the game-winner versus Illinois State. Forward Charlotte Cooke scored her first career goal in the 109th minute at Ohio State and midfielder Marti Desjarlais has scored twice while logging the most minutes of any Illini midfielder (1,111), 77 percent of the minutes Illinois has played this season.
Quick-Strike Illini
Conventional soccer wisdom says the first five minutes of a half is one of the most opportune times to score and Illinois has done just that recently. All three Illini goals against Michigan came within those two segments of the match, Illinois scoring at 2:14, 48:45 and 49:26. A week earlier at Minnesota, Natasha Karniski scored in the third minute of the game, and Jessica Bayne punched in a goal at 4:32 against Wisconsin.
That's Me in the Corner
Using its superior pace, Illinois has racked up three times as many corner kicks as its opponents, holding an 93-31 advantage. Illinois has been outcornered only twice, and both times by only one corner kick. Michigan State held a 3-2 advantage and Northwestern led 5-4. The Illini have allowed one or fewer corners six times this season, and the 31 corners allowed is on pace to shatter the record for fewest opponent corner kicks (58) set in 2003.
Back to Back Jacks
Twice this season Illinois has scored two goals within 45 seconds of each other. Most recently, the Illini put two in the back of the net against Michigan at 48:45 and 49:26, 41 seconds apart. Illinois showed some explosiveness against Illinois State by scoring two goals within 44 seconds of each other, at 19:30 and 20:14. The 41-second span is the eighth-shortest length of time between goals and 44 seconds is ninth on the list.
Karniski Within Sight of Record
With a minimum of four games left in the season, senior defender Christen Karniski has a chance to break the career games started record. Karniski, who has started all 82 games of her career, is currently third on the list. She would have to start every regular season game this season and two postseason games to pass current record holder Tara Hurless' 86 games started. Senior defender Kelly Campbell is eighth on the games started list with 80. Karniski is now tied for ninth place in games played with 82 and Campbell is 11th on the list with 81. Hurless also holds that record with 88 games played.
