Aug. 29, 2010

Box Score

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois Fighting Illini women's soccer team shutout the Ball State Cardinals, 3-0, at Illinois Soccer Stadium on Aug. 29. Freshman Vanessa DiBernardo, sophomore Shayla Mutz and senior Jordan Hilbrands each tallied one goal for the Illini on the day.

"I am happy with the victory, our performance and with players coming off the bench and playing well," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "Our midfield really had to step up in the absence of Jenna Carosio and Laura Knutson, especially in the first half, and I thought we battled really well."

DiBernardo, a midfielder, put the Illini ahead, 1-0, as she received a pass from sophomore forward Niki Read and drove a low shot past Cardinals' keeper Aubrey Buehler in the 16th minute. The first game-winning goal of her collegiate career, DiBernardo leads the Illini with three goals and seven points.

"Vanessa has confidence in herself and our team has confidence in her," said Rayfield of her first-year midfielder. "She can strike the ball well and put it on net but I think what's really helping her right now is that we have a lot of other weapons."

Two of the Illini's weapons, Mutz and Hilbrands, tallied their first goals of the season against the Cardinals. Mutz was unassisted in doubling the Illini lead in the 27th minute. The Homer Glen, Ill. native recovered a loose ball in the box and headed it past Buehler for her first points of 2010.

In the second half, Hilbrands added her first goal of the season in the 57th minute to reach the final score, 3-0. Read earned her second assist of the game by pushing a pass through the Cardinals' defense and into the right side of the box. Hilbrands controlled the ball and directed a low shot into the far corner of the net for the ninth goal of her career. With three assists on the season, Read currently leads the Illini in the category and has surpassed the total assists, two, she accumulated in 2009.

In net, sophomore Steph Panozzo and senior Alexandra Kapicka split the contest with Panozzo earning her third start and second victory of the season. Panozzo stopped two Cardinal shots in the first half before being replaced by Kapicka, who stopped three shots to preserve the shutout.