Oct. 28, 2005

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois used three second-half goals and controlled the game throughout in beating Iowa 4-1 on the Illini's senior night in front of 541 fans at Illinois Soccer Stadium. Illinois secured the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with the win and forward Ella Masar broke the school record for the fastest goal to start a half, scoring the eventual game-winner 11 seconds into the second period.

With the win and a loss by Minnesota, the Illini (10-5-3 overall, 6-3-1 in the Big Ten) move into the fourth spot in the final Big Ten standings and will face the Golden Gophers on Thursday, Nov. 3. Minnesota fell 1-0 to Penn State in double-overtime Friday.

"This team has really done some great things in terms of creating shots," Illinois coach Janet Rayfield said. "But when it's tournament time, there's no time to relax."

The Illini dominated the first half against the Hawkeyes (3-12-4, 1-7-2), hardly allowing Iowa to hold possession into its attacking half of the field. Illinois outshot the Hawks 12-1 in the first half and did not allow a shot on goal, but the game was scoreless until Jessica Bayne (Troy, Ill.) scored at 43:14. Bayne put in a shot far post from 14 yards out on the left flank off a pass from Kara Gostisha (West Chester, Ohio) to give the Illini a 1-0 lead at half.

Masar (Urbana, Ill.) then wasted no time off the second-half kickoff, taking the pass off the restart and driving undeterred through the entire right side of the Iowa defense before burying a 15-yarder to the far post to stake the Illini to a 2-0 lead at 45:11. Her goal broke Lindsay Johnson's mark of 13 seconds set in 2001 to open a game, and Paula Faherty's goal 19 seconds into the second half of a match in 2003.

"I just got the ball and saw a gap," Masar said. "I didn't realize what happened until it was done."

The Hawkeyes scored off a through-ball from Manon Engelhardt to Katelyn Quinn at 62:01, pulling within 2-1 as Illinois appeared to let up slightly. But the Illini tacked on two more later in the game as Charlotte Cooke (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) sent a 10-yarder in from the center of the field when Iowa keeper Erin MacIsaac came off her line to stop Jessica Levitt's (Naperville, Ill.) drive into the box at 83:01. Only 41 seconds later, defender Kelly Campbell (Gaithersburg, Md.) scored her second goal in three games, punching in the rebound off her own penalty kick that went off the crossbar before falling at MacIsaac's feet at 83:42.

For the game, Illinois outshot the Hawkeyes 27-7 and outcornered them 6-0. It is the third time this season and first in the Big Ten that Illinois has held an opponent without a corner kick.

Campbell's goal marked her first multiple-goal season and Masar's was her first game-winner of 2005. Levitt's assist was her first career point, as was Gostisha's assist.