Box Score | Printable Box Score | Flaws Goal From Midfield

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - In a Big Ten battle at Yurcak Field on Friday night, Illinois suffered a 2-1 loss on a late goal in the 86th minute by No. 14 Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights and Illini traded goals less than a minute apart in the first half and were even for nearly the entire match until RU came out on top in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Senior Jannelle Flaws scored her Big Ten-leading 16th goal, which also ranks second in the NCAA.

"I feel for our team and our staff tonight," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "We are better than our latest results and anyone who saw tonight's game saw two top teams battle it out. We played some of our best soccer and had our fair share of possession."

Rutgers struck first with a goal by Madison Tiernan in the 19th minute but only led for 48 seconds, as Flaws delivered the equalizer from midfield in the 20th minute off the assist by freshman Kara Marbury. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy was off her line and Flaws capitalized with a shot from 50 yards out into the net.

The Glenview, Illinois, native ended Rutgers' streak of four straight shutouts and snapped a scoreless streak of nearly 455 consecutive minutes. It was the first goal given up by Rutgers since Sept. 25 at Nebraska and only the fifth goal allowed all season.

Flaws, who has tallied 12 of UI's last 14 goals, continued her climb up the Illinois record books with her 42nd career goal, placing her one back of Vanessa DiBernardo (43 goals) for third all-time. Tara Hurless (47 goals) and Emily Brown (46 goals) sit atop the all-time scoring list.

The contest entered halftime tied 1-1, with each team attempting seven shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Claire Wheatley made three saves in the opening period, while Murphy had all four of her stops in the first half.

The Illini only took three shots in the second half and notched their only corner kick in the 79th minute. Rutgers fired eight shots after the break and finished with a 15-10 edge in the category. Flaws led the way with five shots followed by two apiece from junior Reagan Robishaw and freshman Abby Elinsky and one by sophomore Allison Stucky.

Amy Pietrangelo scored the game-winning goal directly off Rutgers' fourth and final corner kick of the night with less than four-and-a-half minutes remaining. Wheatley, who made a stellar leaping save a minute earlier, got a hand on the bender but was unable to deflect it out.

"It is tough to lose on that type of a goal, but that is our sport," Rayfield said. "We will continue to get better and we need to stay focused on that. We were much closer tonight to the team we are capable of being, and we need to take another step on Sunday. If we stay focused on our best, the results will come."

Illinois (9-6-0, 4-5-0 Big Ten) dropped its fourth in a row, marking its first four-game skid since 2008. Rutgers improved to 11-1-1 overall and 7-1-1 in the Big Ten.

Up Next: The Illini will continue their east coast trip with their final regular season road game at Maryland on Sunday at noon CT.