Sept. 30, 2009

Week 7: Complete Illinois Match Notes (PDF)

Game 11: ILLINOIS (5-3-2, 0-0-1 Big Ten) at #12 PURDUE (6-2-2, 1-0-1)

The Series: Illinois leads Purdue 8-4-2 in the all-time series, but has never won a game played in West Lafayette. Last meeting: Illinois 1, Purdue 0 (Oct. 31, 2008 in Champaign)

Game 12: ILLINOIS at INDIANA (8-3-0, 0-2-0)

The Series: Illinois owns a 7-3-2 advantage over Indiana in the all-time series and is 3-2-1 in games played in Bloomington. Last meeting: Indiana 1, Illinois 0 (Oct. 19, 2008 in Bloominton)

On The Air
Radio: Illini Sports Network - WDWS AM 1400 (Brian Moline)
• Both matches will have a delayed broadcast on WDWS and be streamed live on fightingillini.com

Livestats: GameTracker linked on fightingillini.com

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

Big Ten Play Continues on the Road
A tough road weekend awaits the Illini, as they continue conference play with a pair of games at No. 12 Purdue and at Indiana. Illinois will face the Boilermakers at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 2, then play the Hoosiers at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday. This marks the final time this season that Illinois will play two road games in the same weekend.

The Illini have just played one Big Ten game this season, tying Minnesota 2-2 last Sunday. Purdue is 1-0-1 and Indiana 0-2-0 after the first weekend of conference play.

Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers are the highest ranked Big Ten team in the latest NSCAA poll, coming in at No. 12 nationally with an impressive road win over then-No. 6 Texas A&M. Purdue opened conference play last week on the road, tying Wisconsin and beating Northwestern. The Boilermakers' only losses this season are to No. 2 Stanford and No. 11 Santa Clara, both of which were away from West Lafayette. The Boilermakers are considered one of the top offensive teams in the conference, averaging 2.30 goals per game. Leading the way is senior Jessica Okoroafo who is third in the Big Ten with 15 points on the year.

About Indiana
Indiana got off to a hot start to the season with an 8-1-0 record in non-conference play and a No. 19 national ranking. The Hoosiers are coming off of a rough week against the Big Ten, however, dropping road matches to Northwestern and Wisconsin, both in one-goal games. Goalkeeper Lindsay Campbell has a goals against average of 0.67, while the Hoosiers feature a balanced offense with four players who have nine or more points. Prior to facing the Illini on Sunday, Indiana will host No. 20 Michigan State on Friday.

Last Time Out
Illinois opened up the Big Ten season by battling to a 2-2 tie with Minnesota last Sunday, as a crowd of 2,347 gathered at the Illinois Soccer Stadium for the fourth annual SoccerFest. The attendance marked the second largest crowd in school history, as fans came out to support the Illini and enjoy the festivities with free food, games and motorcycles surrounding the track. Illinois got its goals from junior Christina Sahly and senior Jackie Santacaterina as the team played its second double overtime game of the season.

The Orange and Blue got on the board first, as Sahly scored in the 17th minute for her second goal of the season, one-timing a shot inside the box after a pass from Jordan Hilbrands. It marked the first time this season Minnesota had given up a goal in the first half as Hilbrands tallied her first assist of the year and team-leading 13th point of the season. Minnesota was able to capitalize on a corner kick in the 35th, tying the game at 1-1 going into half.

The Gophers scored just seconds into the second half to make the score 2-1, but Illinois took the momentum back minutes later on an unassisted shot from Santacaterina to the far post. Neither team could get anything going in the two overtimes as the match ended in a 2-2 tie.

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 fourth in the Big Ten. When Hilbrands scores a goal, the Illini are 4-0-0. She has been consistently dangerous and accurate, as a remarkable 71 percent of her shots have been on goal (12 of 17 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 53 games she has played in her career and has played the entire game in 35 straight games.

Finding the Back of the Net
Illinois is averaging 1.90 goals per game this season, a major improvement from 2008 when the team averaged 1.04 goals per game. The Illini have been shut out just once this year, something that happened to them nine times last season. A total of nine different players have scored so far, led by Jordan Hilbrands' six goals.

Welcome Back
Senior captain Jackie Santacaterina made her first start of the season memorable, scoring Illinois' second goal of the game against Minnesota by stealing the ball from a defender and curling a shot to the far post for the fourth goal of her career. The midfielder missed the first three games of the season as she recovered from foot surgery, but showed she is back to full strength by playing 88 minutes against the Gophers.

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 still appear in the Soccer Times national poll at No. 24 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 three of her goals this season are unassisted, including a goal on a free kick against Loyola-Chicago. 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 eight points and scored Illinios' first goal of the season against Illinois State.

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 played the most minutes of any Illinois forward (642), also leading the team with 23 shot attempts on the season, 12 of which were on goal.

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 and is tied for fourth on the team with five points.

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.

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 or will face three of the top 12 teams in the nation in No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Portland and No. 12 Purdue. In total, the Illini will face five teams that appear in the top-25.

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 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
Friday, Oct. 2 at Purdue // Delayed
Sunday, Oct. 4 at Indiana // Delayed
Sunday, Oct. 11 vs. Wisconsin // LIVE
Thursday, Oct. 22 vs. Ohio State // LIVE
Friday, Oct. 30 vs. Michigan State // Delayed
Sunday, Nov. 1 vs. Michigan // LIVE

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.