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Champaign, Ill. – Fighting Illini soccer kicked off the 2016 season with a 1-0 exhibition victory over Notre Dame on Sunday, Aug. 14. The only goal in the game came from Illini senior Hope D'Addario, who dropped a free kick just beyond the Notre Dame goalkeeper in the second half.
"There were some things we did well, and certainly some things we need to work on," head coach Janet Rayfield said after the game. "It's great to play a team like Notre Dame in an exhibition because they expose some things that we need to work on. We got a lot of players in, some freshmen got a lot of minutes against a quality opponent."
The Illini were strong on the offense, firing nine shots to Notre Dame's five, and putting five on goal. The Fighting Irish put just one shot on frame, saved by freshman Jaelyn Cunningham late in the second half.
Five Illini newcomers saw action on the field, including Alicia Barker, who earned the start for the Orange and Blue.
"I think this game tells us that we're going to be deep," Rayfield said of the lineup variations throughout the match. "I think this team knows that everybody matters right now. All 30 of these student-athletes are training hard and making each other better in practice, and I think that shows on the field. We can come out and compete from the first minute to the 90th, this is going to be a team that has 90 minutes in them because we have that depth."
