Oct. 21, 2010

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The University of Illinois women's soccer team earned their second comeback victory in as many games, downing Ohio State, 2-1 behind the strength of second-half goals from freshman Vanessa DiBernardo and sophomore Niki Read. Senior Alexandra Kapicka stopped six Buckeye shots to earn the win in net.

"It was a typical Big Ten battle," head coach Janet Rayfield said of the match overall. "There were moments where they had momentum and earned chances while we also controlled the momentum and earned chances. We battled for the time we had possession. When we did that, those were the moments we had the momentum, we kept possession and earn chances most of the second half."

Kapicka came up with key saves early in the game to keep the match scoreless as Ohio State pressured the Illinois defense repeatedly in the opening minutes. After making her first stop of the night in the 12th minute, Kapicka was forced to block the Buckeyes' second attempt on net during the 14th minute when Lauren Granberg controlled the ball and fired a shot on target from inside the box. One minute later, Tiffany Cameron tested Kapicka from close range, taking her first attempt of the evening from the right side, which Kapicka was able to corral to earn her third save in the opening 16 minutes.

DiBernardo earned the first Illini shot on goal of the evening in the 20th minute; however, Ohio State goalie Rachel Middleman was able to stop her attempt from inside the box to earn her first save of the contest.

Ohio State broke the scoreless tie in the 52nd minute as Danica Wu tallied a goal on a shot from 20 yards away into the top-right corner of the net. Illinois answered immediately with a shot off junior Marissa Mykines' corner kick in the 53rd minute; however, senior Krystin Miller's attempt was directed wide of the net.

The Illini would only trail for 11 minutes before being able to break through for their first goal of the evening. Mykines earned her fourth assist of the season as DiBernardo placed a shot from 25 yards away into the Ohio State net for her 10th goal on the season. With this tally, DiBernardo became the first Illini to record double-digit goals since Ella Masar finished the 2007 season with 12.

After the teams exchanged shots for 20 minutes, Read found the back of the net with the final attempt of the night to put Illinois ahead, 2-1, in the 84th minute. Read bent the shot around the Ohio State defense and inside the right post from 30 yards away for the game-winner, her first goal of the season.

"(Assistant coach) Leisha (Alcia) went to Niki and I believe she said, `I believe in you, go out there and be confident, your time for a goal is coming, be confident and get us one,' and Niki did just that," said head coach Janet Rayfield. "We were earning shots up top because Ohio State was making it tough to get behind them. Niki, Vanessa (DiBernardo) and Marissa (Mykines) can all hit those types of shots. I am happy Niki took her shot and did so with confidence."

Ohio State earned five corners while the Illini took four as the Buckeyes were flagged for eight fouls to four on the Orange and Blue. Illinois outshot Ohio State, 13-11, on the evening as the Illini were able to establish control through the strong play in the midfield and place five shots on target.

"Jenna Carosio came off the bench and battled to keep possession in the midfield," Rayfield said of her junior midfielder who totaled 62 minutes of action. "She came in, changed the game and gave us momentum to work with. Some players really stepped up tonight, Jenna being one of them."

The Fighting Illini (11-2-1 overall, 4-1-1 Big Ten) return to Illinois Soccer Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 24 to host a 1 p.m. contest with the Penn State Nittany Lions (6-8-1 overall, 4-2-0 Big Ten).