Champaign, Ill. – Illinois handed the Northern Kentucky Norse their first loss of the season on Friday, Sept. 11, as the Fighting Illini earned a 1-0 victory. UI fired a season-high 29 shots in the match, improving to 6-1-0 on the season with the win.
The Illini were dominant offensively from the beginning of the game. Illinois had fired 15 shots in the first half while shutting out NKU. Illinois took advantage of nine corner kicks before the halftime break, but was unable to capitalize. The Norse continued to hold off the Orange and Blue until the 37th minute of the game.
"I think tonight, you have to be happy with the quantity of shots that we took," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "I wish we would have been a bit more creative, so the quality of those opportunities had been better. The shots we did have, we certainly want to get more of those on frame. Northern Kentucky gave us a lot of possession and they allowed us to get into the attacking third, but we played into their hands, taking shots from long range and we struggled to get to the end line. It was tough. They put a lot of numbers in the box and they defended hard. They defended well. They allowed us to get the quantity, but they didn't let us get the quality of shots that we wanted."
Nearing the end of the first half, junior Hope D'Addario was able to get the Illini on the board. Following a yellow card on the Norse, D'Addario earned her second goal of the season with a strong free kick from the far side. With an open opportunity, she was able to find the far corner of the net on her shot.
"When I had the opportunity, no defenders, to just get a shot on frame, I knew for my teammates that I had to get it somewhere on frame and give someone the opportunity to at least get a head on it," D'Addario said of her shot. "Luckily for me it just sailed right into the back of the net."
Illinois remained dominant after the break, but the Norse were ready to match up. Northern Kentucky fired its first shot of the game about five minutes into the second half. Â The Norse would only find three more opportunities, finishing with just two shots on goal.
Illinois fired 10 shots on goal in the game, led by redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws (4). Both Allison Stucky and Kara Marbury were offensive powers for the Illini on Friday. Marbury tallied seven shots on the night while Stucky recorded five of her own, two of which were on goal. Â
Illinois is off for the weekend, but will pick back up next weekend with the start of Big Ten play. The Illini open up conference play at Indiana, facing the Hoosiers at 6 p.m. CT.
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