Ann Arbor, Mich. - Fighting Illini Soccer fell to 8-3-3 on the season and 2-2-3 in Big Ten play on Sunday, as the Michigan Wolverines took a 3-1 victory over UI. Junior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley faced 22 shots in the game, grabbing six saves overall. The Illini defense proved to be a major weapon in the game as both Hope D'Addario and Jenna Miller were credited with clutch team saves in the match.
The Illini fired seven shots in the game, led by redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws who recorded four shots and one on goal. Flaws has now taken 328 shots in her career, good for another Illinois career record. Flaws' holds the career records for goals (51), shots (328), shots on goal (158) and points (116) at Illinois.
"We need to commit to being good at what we do well, and play the style of play that we have worked on in training," head coach Janet Rayfield said. " Michigan was good at what they do and we just weren't good at what we do today. It's a tight Big Ten race and we will come back to Champaign and refocus ourselves on the things that we do well. I am confident this team has not played its best soccer yet. Certainly that needs to happen now, and to that end, I am extremely confident that we have the ability to make that happen."
The Wolverines came out strong on the offensive side on Sunday. Michigan had fired six shots early in the half, only allowing one for the Illini. An own goal in the 18th minute of play gave the Illini an early lead in the game, but U-M came back quickly to tie up the score.
At the halftime break, Illinois had given the Wolverines two corner kicks and allowed them nine shots. The Illini had taken two shots of their own, while Wheatley had grabbed one save. The Illini were strong on defense in the half, working together to keep Michigan from finding the go-ahead goal. Defender D'Addario blocked a Michigan shot to keep the score tied with about 10 minutes left in the half, while Miller cleared the ball from just in front of the goal for a save as well.
Early in the second half, Michigan was again aggressive on the offense, forcing Wheatley to make back-to-back saves. The Illini were awarded a free kick, with 32 minutes to play, giving Flaws an open scoring opportunity. Her shot was high, but Michigan followed suit just a few minutes later, looking for a goal off of a free kick just outside the 18. The kick slid just over the crossbar, keeping the score knotted 15 minutes into the second half.
The Illini worked hard to shift gears midway through the second half, looking to find more scoring opportunities. Illinois tallied five shots total after the break but could not capitalize. In the 66th minute of play, the Wolverines took the lead, 2-1. Then, just a few minutes later, Michigan's Ani Sarkisian found the back of the net for the third time, winning a one-on-one against Wheatley.
Illinois will return to Champaign this week, hosting Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 15. Illinois will also host Nebraska on Oct. 18, with the match scheduled to be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Illini Soccer.
