Nov. 16, 2007

Box Score

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Illinois soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament thanks to a golden goal off the head of senior forward Ella Masar, as the Illini topped the Louisville Cardinals, 1-0, in the opening round matchup. After the two teams played to a scoreless tie through regulation, Masar delivered the game-winning blow on a cross from sophomore forward Chichi Nweke in the 92nd minute of play. The Orange and Blue will face host Notre Dame, who defeated Loyola (Ill.), 3-0, on Sunday at noon (CT) at Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind.

The win marks the fourth year in a row that the Illini (12-6-2) have advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. With the shutout, senior goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens tied her career-best of 11 shutouts set last season. The team's 12th shutout of the season is one shy of the single-season record set in 2003.

"We knew it was going to be a situation where we had to stay focused defensively and be persistent offensively and that was definitely true to form," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "A lot of credit to Louisville because that team fights hard. They make you fight for every single shot you get."

The shots were few and far between for both teams, as Illinois edged Louisville (13-6-2) just 6-5. The game also was quiet for both goalkeepers, as most of the action took place between the 18's. Neither team managed a shot on frame through the first half, setting the tone for a defensive struggle.

"Our defense fought hard in their box," Rayfield said. "(Mary Therese) McDonnell defended well out on our flank and (Kristy) Weeks had a great game not only terms of keeping them, but also getting involved in the attack and making them defend her. I thought part of our defense was our defenders getting involved in the attack."

Illinois kept chipping away at the Louisville defense, getting more opportunities in the second half. The Illini provided the first shot-on-goal in the 78th minute when sophomore forward Brittany Garrett cut from the right side to the middle of the field and fired a shot at Cardinal keeper Joanna Haig, who made her first save of the game.

"We talked at the half that we didn't have to get all the way to the end line," Rayfield said. "I thought we had a lot more dangerous opportunities in the second half. We served a lot of balls through the box that made things dangerous for them and made them drop numbers into the box."

The Cardinals responded three minutes later with their first shot between the posts, but Carstens made the stop as the defensive battle continued.

Illinois added its second shot-on-goal at 88:49 when freshman midfielder Cory Steigerwald took a touch at the six, but her shot was narrowly deflected from the goal by the Louisville defense.

With the two teams still knotted at zero, the game headed to overtime. It marked Louisville's ninth overtime match of the season and Illinois' fourth.

"In the overtime we talked about getting to the end line, making the runs hard in the box, then picking someone out and putting the ball on their head or at their feet," Rayfield said. "This team is pretty good about taking instructions and following them."

It didn't take Illinois long to follow those instructions, as 1:15 into the overtime period, Nweke dribbled down the right side before crossing to Masar inside the six. With the Haig drawn to the right post to defend against Nweke's threat, Masar was able to hammer a shot with her head into the corner of the net to seal the 1-0 victory. The goal was Masar's 12th overall and seventh game-winner of the season, tying the single-season record set by Tara Hurless in 2004.

"Ella made a great run," Rayfield said. "She got herself on the back side so she was running away from defenders looking at the ball. Having her helps the rest of the attack to be that much more dangerous.

"Collectively, (Jordan) Hilbrands played well and Garrett got in and took on some players. We were able to use a lot of players up front and have a lot of different looks in terms of being dangerous, and (Masar) being in there just gives us one more dangerous player. The more dangerous players you can put on the field, the more dangerous everybody is because [our opponents] have to be aware of all of those players."

Illinois will continue its tournament run against host and regional four seed Notre Dame. While the Illini and Fighting Irish have never met in the regular season, the two teams have faced each other in spring action.

"With the matchup between Illinois and Notre Dame, you're going to see two teams that have a lot of dangerous attacking players," Rayfield said. "Notre Dame can score goals in a lot of different ways. They can go down their list in the same we can go down our list of goal-scorers. It may be a game of which team's defense is able to handle the large volume of good attacking players."