Oct. 15, 2009

Week 9: Complete Illinois Match Notes (PDF)

Game 14: ILLINOIS (5-5-3, 0-2-2 Big Ten) at IOWA (8-6-0, 0-4-0)

The Series
Illinois owns a 9-5-0 advantage over Iowa in the all-time series and has won five of the last six games against the Hawkeyes.
Last meeting: Iowa 1, Illinois 0 (Oct. 10, 2008 in Iowa City, Iowa)

On The Air
Livestats: GameTracker on fightingillini.com

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For Openers
This year, Illinois is:
• 5-0-1 when scoring first
• 5-0-1 when scoring at least two goals
• 4-0-0 when Jordan Hilbrands scores

Illini Travel To Iowa For Saturday Match
Illinois plays a rare Saturday match this weekend, facing Iowa on the road at 7 p.m. at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Both teams are still searching for their first Big Ten win, with the Illini owning a conference record of 0-2-2 and the Hawkeyes standing at 0-4-0. Iowa defeated the Orange and Blue 1-0 last year in Iowa City, as the last time Illinois won at the Iowa Soccer Complex was in 2006.

Junior Jordan Hilbrands still leads the Illini with six goals and 13 points on the season, with sophomore Marissa Mykines close behind with four goals and 10 points. Illinois has also gotten consistent play from junior defenders Danielle Kot and Krystin Miller.

Scouting Iowa
Iowa has been proficient offensively this season, averaging 1.86 goals per game to rank second in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes feature a balanced attack with five players who have nine or more points on the season. Junior Keli McLaughlin leads the way, with a total of seven goals to rank tied for third in the Big Ten. Iowa has played the best in the Big Ten close, losing to both conference co-leaders Wisconsin and Minnesota by a score of 1-0. Most recently, Iowa lost to Penn State 4-0 on the road.

Last Time Out
Illinois struggled to find the net, dropping a 1-0 match to Wisconsin last Sunday at home. The Badgers played a stifling 90 minutes of defense, holding the Illini to without a shot on goal in the game. Prior to this year's match-up, Illinois had won seven straight matches over Wisconsin as the Badgers won in Champaign for the first time since 2002.

Wisconsin scored the game-winner in the 60th minute, as sophomore Laurie Nosbusch finished to the left corner of the goal after taking a pass inside the box from freshman Paige Adams. The Badgers dominated the statistics, out-shooting the Illini 14-8 and having five shots on goal to Illinois' zero. Orange and Blue keeper Alexandra Kapicka had a total of four saves on the day, including a spectacular diving stop in the 26th after a shot by Nosbusch.

Heroic Hilbrands
Junior forward Jordan Hilbrands has had a breakout 2009 thus far, with six goals on the season to lead the Illini and rank sixth in the Big Ten. When Hilbrands scores a goal, the Illini are 4-0-0. She has also been the most accurate Illini, as 58 percent of her shots have been on goal (14 of 24 attempts). The junior tallied her first assist of the season against Minnesota and now has 13 points in 2009.

Hilbrands has had multiple goal games twice, scoring two goals apiece in Illinois' wins against UC Santa Barbara and #18 Colorado. After her performance against the Buffaloes, the Bexley, Ohio native was named a Primetime Performer of the Week by CollegeSoccer360.com. Heading into this year, Hilbrands had just two career goals.

Rock Solid Kot
Junior defender Danielle Kot is easily one of the most durable players on Illinois' roster, as she has not missed a minute of play since her freshman season. Kot has started at center back in all 56 games she has played in her career and has played the entire game in 38 straight games.

Kapicka One Of Illini Greats In Net
Senior goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka is becoming one of the top keepers in school history in just two seasons as the starter. Her career goals against average of 1.01 ranks second all-time behind Lindsey Carstens' career GAA of 0.94. Kapicka also has 12 career shutouts to rank third all-time at Illinois and has made 132 career saves to rank fourth in the history books.

Rayfield Approaches Milestone
Head coach Janet Rayfield is just two wins away from her 100th career victory at Illinois, with an Illini record of 98-57-15 (.621). Rayfield is already the winningest coach in school history, as she been at the helm of the Orange and Blue program for eight of its 13 years of existence. illinois in the polls Illinois was ranked as high as No. 11 by the NSCAA earlier this season, but dropped out of the top-25 after losing games against #2 Portland and Washington. The Illini were nationally ranked in the first five NSCAA polls and were the preseason pick to finish third in the Big Ten by the conference coaches.

Mykines Stepping Up
Sophomore Marissa Mykines has become one of the most consistent Illini in 2009, starting every match and playing the most minutes out of any midfielder. Mykines is proficient at creating her own offensive chances, as all four of her goals this season are unassisted. Most recently she scored on a free kick against Indiana, marking the second time this season she has scored on a re-start. Her goal on a free kick against Loyola-Chicago marked Illinois' first goal on a free kick in over two seasons. She also scored Illinois' lone goal against No. 2 Portland, marking just the second goal the Pilots had given up at that point in the season. The sophomore ranks second on the team with 10 points, already doubling her point total from her freshman season.

Senior Send-Off
The 2009 senior class of Courtney Bell, Brittany Garrett, Alexandra Kapicka, Chichi Nweke and Jackie Santacaterina have already left an Illini legacy as they approach the end of their careers. Along with redshirt junior Christina Sahly, the class was ranked as the No. 9 recruiting class in the country in 2006 to mark head coach Janet Rayfield's top class in history. The seniors have a career record of 45-29-7 (.599) and helped the Illini to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2006 and 2008.

Nweke Looks to Continue Climb
Forward Chichi Nweke has already made her mark in the Illinois offensive record books, and looks to continue climbing the charts in her senior season. Nweke currently ranks seventh in career points with 52, is tied for eighth in career goals (18) and tied for seventh in career assists (16). She also holds the school record for goals in a game with six other players, with a hat trick against Utah in her freshman season. The Virginia native scored her first goal of 2009 against No. 9 UCLA on Sept. 4 and played a season-high 75 minutes last weekend against Wisconsin.

Fantastic Freshmen
Illinois' attack has gotten a big boost this season from a pair of freshmen, as Shayla Mutz and Niki Read have each shown dynamic flashes at forward.

Read was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 7 after tallying four points in the Illini's matches against No. 9 UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. The Lake Orion, Mich. native had the first assist of her career against the Bruins, then scored a goal and an assist against UC Santa Barbara. Read has made eight starts this year at forward, is third on the team in points (6) and second in shots (24).

Mutz made the most of her first career start against Milwaukee, scoring the first two goals of her career in Illinois' 3-1 win. The Homer Glen, Ill. native has gotten increased minutes as the season progresses, starting the past five games, and is tied for fourth on the team with five points.

Illinois TV and Radio Broadcasts
Illinois soccer will receive unprecedented exposure this season, with at least three games televised on the Big Ten Network and a total of nine games broadcast on WDWS AM 1400 (and also streamed on fightingillini.com). Most recently, the Illini's home game against Minnesota on Sept. 27 was televised live on the BTN. Below is a list of the remaining television and radio broadcasts:

Illinois on the Big Ten Network
Sunday, Oct. 25 at Penn State // LIVE
Friday, Oct. 30 vs. Michigan State // Delayed

Illinois on WDWS AM 1400
Thursday, Oct. 22 vs. Ohio State // LIVE
Friday, Oct. 30 vs. Michigan State // Delayed
Sunday, Nov. 1 vs. Michigan // LIVE

Tough Slate
Illinois may have put together its toughest schedule ever under head coach Janet Rayfield with its 2009 list of opponents. Ten of the 19 teams the Illini will face this season made the 2008 NCAA Tournament field, including College Cup participant UCLA and Portland, which advanced to the Elite Eight. In the current NSCAA rankings, Illinois has faced two of the top four teams in the nation in No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Portland. In total in 2009, the Illini will face seven teams that appear in the top-25 or are receiving votes in the current national poll.

All-Big Ten Performers Return
Six members of the 2009 Illini squad have earned Big Ten accolades in past seasons. Senior Jackie Santacaterina was named to the All-Big Ten second team in both 2007 and 2008, while junior Danielle Kot was an All-Big Ten second team selection last season. Senior Chichi Nweke was the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and named to the All-Freshman team the same season, while Kot, Laura Knutson and Cory Steigerwald were selected to the 2007 Big Ten All-Freshman team. Additionally, senior goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka was named to the 2008 Big Ten All-Tournament team.

Rayfield Coaches U.S. National Team
Head coach Janet Rayfield had a memorable July, as she served on the U.S. Women's National Team staff for its two matches against Canada on July 19 and 22. During that span, Rayfield served as an assistant under head coach Pia Sundhage, helping to train and evaluate the national team players. The U.S. won both matches against Canada 1-0.

Up Next
Illinois has an interesting pair of games next week, hosting No. 19 Ohio State at the Illinois Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. and then traveling to Penn State on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. CT. The match against the Nittany Lions will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.