Oct. 15, 2006

Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Mary Therese McDonnell tied the match with her second goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 55th minute, but Michigan scored 10 minutes later and held on for a 2-1 victory in front of 514 fans at U-M Soccer Field. The loss, coupled with a loss by Indiana, puts Penn State alone atop the Big Ten standings after the Nittany Lions downed Ohio State 1-0 Sunday.

"We're gonna have to learn to play against teams that are going to try to solve things physically," Illinois coach Janet Rayfield said. "In a Big Ten dogfight, you can't make crucial mistakes and expect to win, and we made mistakes today."

The Illini (9-6-0 overall, 5-2-0 in the Big Ten) struggled from the outset, as Michigan (7-5-4, 3-2-2) attacked with a physical presence. That, coupled with a choppy playing surface, kept Illinois off the board in the first half as the game went to halftime scoreless. Statistically, the contest was just as even at the midpoint, with shots tied 9-9 and Illinois holding slim advantages in corner kicks (5-4) and fouls (8-7).

"The fouls were pretty even, but our fouls were us trying to fight off their physicality," Rayfield said. "Their fouls disrupted our attack, but our fouls would often start their attack."

The Wolverines grabbed a lead in the 53rd minute when Judy Coffman put in a penalty kick after Michigan forward Melissa Dobbyn drew a foul in the box. But Illinois fought back immediately as Ella Masar drew a whistle in the box and McDonnell buried the ball in the net, pulling the Illini even at 1.

"Both fouls were in the box and sort of from behind, and both forwards made it look good," Rayfiels said. "M.T. (McDonnell) showed good composure and put it in."

But the Wolverines responded just over 10 minutes later as Katie Miler put in a feed from Coffman for the game-winner at 64:38.

"If you're gonna win a hard-fought big ten battle on the road, you've got to limit the critical, game-changing mistakes," Rayfield said. "We also have to find ways to get our frontrunners free from a hard, physical defensive unit and we have to have a 90-minute focus."

For the match, Michigan out-shot Illinois 16-15, but the Illini held slight margins in corner kicks (8-6) and fouls (17-16). Three yellow cards were presented in the match, with Michigan's Dobbyn and Emily Kalmbach earning cautions and McDonnell receiving her first card of the season.

Up Next: Illinois returns home for its final weekend at Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium this season, hosting Purdue and Indiana. The Illini face the Boilers at 7 p.m. Friday, then go up against the No. 16 Hoosiers Sunday at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. With just three regular season matches remaining, the Illini sit in third place in the Big Ten with 15 points. Penn State leads the league with 18 points, and Indiana's 16 points puts the Hoosiers in second. However, because Penn State does not have a travel partner, the Nittany Lions have only two conference matches remaining.