Sept. 28, 2007

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Illinois soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to Ohio State in the team's Big Ten opener with a 2-1 loss in double overtime in front of 1,007 fans at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Friday. Freshman forward Laura Knutson notched her fourth goal of the season on an assist from senior forward Ella Masar as the Illini fell to 5-3-0 (0-1-0 Big Ten).

Ohio State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Buckeye forward Alex Burzynski's goal in the eighth minute. Burzynski passed over to forward Lisa Collison, whose shot deflected off the post and back to Burzynski for the shot into the net. Although Illinois managed three shots on goal in the half, Ohio State still held a one-goal advantage at the break. Despite trailing at half, head coach Janet Rayfield was very pleased with her team's early performance.

"The first 20 minutes was some of the best soccer we've played to date," Rayfield said. "We created a lot of good chances and knew we were playing well, but we just failed to capitalize. That's an anomaly because we've been a good goal-scoring team. Credit Ohio State's defense because we were tough to defend but they did everything they could to keep the ball out of the net."

The Orange and Blue battled back in the second half to tie the game at one in the 56th minute. Masar fired a shot that was blocked by Buckeye goalkeeper Lauren Robertson before Knutson drove the rebound into the net from five yards out. It marked Masar's third assist and 13th point on the season.

"We talked at halftime about making sure followed everything up," Rayfield said. "We kept getting the ball in and around the box and [Knutson] pounced on one. She's a natural goal-scorer and she seems to find a way to finish balls in the box."

With the two teams still locked at one at the end of regulation, they battled through the first overtime and headed into the second overtime. Illinois narrowly missed a couple of chances in the 107th minute after a corner kick, and Ohio State was able to take advantage, scoring the game-winning goal in the 108th minute on Collison's second goal of the season.

Although Rayfield and the Illini were disappointed with the result, she was happy with the continual improvement that she saw in tonight's game. She knows the team's mentality is in the right place heading into the bulk of their Big Ten season.

"We were better tonight than we were even against Florida," Rayfield said. "We were going for the win in the end. I like that mentality and it will payoff in the future. We'll continue to be as dynamic as were tonight."

The Illini round out the weekend on Sunday when they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at 2 p.m. (CT) in University Park, Pa. The game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.