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EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 19 Illinois stumbled on the road at Northwestern, suffering its second 2-0 shutout of the season. The Illini outshot the Wildcats 17-11, but NU's Addie Steiner scored twice with a goal in each half at Lakeside Field. The Orange and Blue dropped to 9-4-0 overall and 4-3-0 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern moved to 5-6-2 overall and 1-5-1 in the conference.

"Northwestern came in here and kept us from doing what we like to do," head coach Janet Rayfield. "They took us out of our rhythm with their defensive scheme and effort. We gave up the early goal and were chasing the rest of the game. They marked Jannelle and didn't let us do what we wanted to do, which was the difference in the game."

Northwestern got on the board quickly with a goal just 3:18 into the contest by Steiner, who scored on the run with a looping shot over sophomore goalkeeper Claire Wheatley from 20 yards out. The Wildcats are just the third opponent to score first against the Illini this season.

Illinois held an 11-4 advantage in shots after the opening period but was down 1-0 at the break, marking just the second time the Illini have trailed at halftime this year. The physical first frame featured a combined 22 fouls and three yellow cards.

Steiner scored again in the 87th minute on a looping shot from nearly 40 yards out to seal the 2-0 victory for Northwestern. It marked her team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Senior Jannelle Flaws, who led the Illini with six shots, saw her streak of five straight games scoring a goal come to an end. Freshman Abby Elinsky took five shots and put three on target, but NU goalkeeper Lauren Clem turned in a clean sheet with six saves.

Up Next: No. 19 Illinois will have a week until its next game against Minnesota on Sunday, Oct. 12, which will be televised by the Big Ten Network at 2 p.m.