Oct. 7, 2005

Box Score

University Park, Pa. - Illinois fell behind by two goals early and gave up another late as it dropped a 3-1 decision to undefeated No. 2 Penn State on a muddy surface at Jeffrey Field. The Illini got a goal from Jessica Bayne (Troy, Ill.) in the 67th minute, but it wasn't enough as the 2-0 first-half deficit was too much to overcome.

"The first few minutes of the game, they came at us and it was apparent that their athleticism was something we would have to deal with it, and instead of dealing with it we got intimidated," Illinois coach Janet Rayfield said. "They dominated the first half - we played sensitive and hesitant. We played better in the second half, but still not with the confidence a team of this level should have."

Bayne scored in the 67th minute when she received a pass from Eva Strickland (Seattle, Wash.) off a restart and shot far post underneath the keeper to bring the Illini (7-3-2 overall, 3-1-0 in the Big Ten) within 2-1. It was Bayne's fourth goal of the season, moving her into the team lead.

Illinois' best scoring chance outside Bayne's goal came with less than 20 minutes remaining in the game when sophomore forward Ella Masar put a shot on goal that was deflected by PSU goalkeeper Erin McLeod before stopping dead in the mud in front of the goal mouth.

"That would've made it 2-2 and then it would've been a typical Big Ten dogfight," Rayfield said. "We played a much, much better second half with much less hesitancy, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit."

As Illinois pushed forward to attempt to tie the game, PSU midfielder Allie Long served long to Weimer, who beat Illini keeper Lindsey Carstens (West Chester, Ohio) one-on-one and scored into an empty net for the final 3-1 margin.

Adding to the pain for the Illini was the fact that senior defender Kelly Campbell rebroke her nose on a bang-bang play near the end of the first half. The ball bounced around between two players then hit Campbell square in the nose, breaking it for the second time this season.

Penn State scored early, as Carmelina Moscato scored far post after making a run into the middle at 12:06. All-American candidate Tiffany Weimer scored the eventual game-winner off a penalty kick in the 34th minute. It was her 20th goal of the season.

"This team has to believe that if they do what they know how to do and do it with confidence, they can be successful," Rayfield said. "But they started second-guessing themselves and that disrupted our organization."

Illinois travels to Minnesota for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Golden Gophers, who improved to 7-4-2 on the season, 4-1-0 in the Big Ten with a 1-0 win over Iowa Friday.

"It's disappointing, but this isn't the end of our season," Rayfield said. "We will see Penn State again and we've got to get ready to play them again. And we'll get ready to play them again by stepping out there on the field Sunday against a good Minnesota team with the confidence we should've stepped out there with tonight."