Flaws' Last-Second Goal Leads Illini at Michigan State

East Lansing, Mich. - Redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws sent the Illini into overtime on Thursday, converting a last-second penalty kick to tie the score at 1-1 at the end of regulation. The goal is Flaws' team-leading ninth of the season. The Illini move to 8-2-3 on the season and 2-1-3 in Big Ten play after Thursday's match. 

"We can play much better soccer than we did today," head coach Janet Rayfield said of the match. "As expected, Michigan State gives you nothing and gets great numbers behind the ball. We did not do a  good job of playing with both a sense of urgency and a sense of composure. We still battled all the way to the end, though, and managed to get the point on the road."

The Spartans scored early in the game, and held Illinois scoreless until the final seconds of regulation play. The Spartans were called for a foul with one second on the clock, resulting in an Illinois penalty kick, taken by Flaws. Flaws fired five shots in the match, one on goal. Senior Nicole Breece led the Illini with six shots in the game, she put three on frame for Illinois. Redshirt junior Taylore Peterson fired two clutch shots on goal for Illinois as well. 

Junior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley grabbed a season-high nine saves in the match, shutting out MSU in the second half and overtime periods. Wheatley also moves to 8-2-3 on the season. 

The Illini outshot Michigan State in the match, but the Spartans put two more shots on goal than the Orange and Blue. After trailing 1-0 at the half, Illinois came out aggressively in the second half. UI recorded 10 shots after the halftime break, allowing just five from MSU. 

Next up, the Illini travel to Ann Arbor for a match against the Michigan Wolverines. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 11. Fans can follow live scoring or tune into the live stream. Updates will also be posted on Twitter, and can be found by following @IlliniSoccer.