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University of Illinois Athletics

Maroney_MSU
0
Illinois ILL (5-10-1, 2-5-1 B1G)
2
Winner Nebraska NEB (10-5-1, 4-3-1 B1G)
Illinois ILL
(5-10-1, 2-5-1 B1G)
0
Final
2
Nebraska NEB
(10-5-1, 4-3-1 B1G)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Illinois ILL 0 0 0
Nebraska NEB 0 2 2

Game Recap: Soccer |

Illini Fall at Nebraska, 2-0

Kara Marbury led Illinois with three shots in the match.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Fighting Illini Soccer fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Thursday, 2-0. Junior Kara Marbury led the Orange and Blue with three shots, and senior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley grabbed five saves in the match. Illinois falls to 5-10-1 on the season and 2-5-1 in Big Ten play.

"Credit Nebraska, they put lots of numbers in the midfield and forced us to try and play over them," head coach Janet Rayfield said.  "We weren't able to connect on the run and the pass to exploit the space.  Although we didn't back down from the physical battle, we struggled to play quick and clean enough through the relentless pressure to create chances. Nebraska capitalized on an unfortunate misplayed ball, but up to that point our defense had held strong and played well.  We have to be better on the offensive end and create some breathing room for our defense. We will recover, learn again, and get ready for the next game. I know this team will never stop fighting."

The Illini defense was strong from the start as the two teams remained scoreless after the first half of play. Illinois allowed just three shots from the Huskers, who held UI without an attempt before the break. Illinois was awarded two corner kicks, but the Nebraska defense cleared both away from the net.  

The Orange and Blue fired four shots in the second half, but the Husker offense was hard to handle. Nebraska took the advantage over the Illini in the 65th minute and doubled its lead with another goal in the 79th minute.  The Huskers fired 14 shots and put seven on frame.

Marbury fired her first shot of the game in the 60th minute and added another in the 77th minute. Sophomore Patricia George added another shot for the Illini in the 83rd minute, and Marbury notched her third shot with a header just over a minute before the final whistle.

The Illini are back in action on Sunday in Iowa City, facing the Hawkeyes at 1 p.m. The game will be livestreamed on BTN Plus, and fans can follow along with live scoring.

Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois Soccer.

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