CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini Soccer (3-7-0) fell to Indiana, 1-0, in an overtime match on Sunday, Sept. 18. Illinois fired 16 shots to Indiana's seven, but the Hoosiers scored in the 92nd minute to overcome the Illini.
"We played great soccer today," head coach Janet Rayfield said after the match. "No disrespect to the teams we have played, but I feel that this team has been the best soccer team every game we have stepped out, and I firmly believed that today. We are struggling to score goals, and unfortunately that's the piece of the game that matters when it comes to results. But this team has to believe that is coming. We controlled the game today, we controlled where the ball was, we controlled possession in our half. We created opportunities for ourselves and we just didn't capitalize on that. You can't win games until you can do that. We just have to believe that moment is coming for us."
Maintaining possession for much of the match, Illinois put two of their six first-half shots on goal, holding Indiana to just four shots. Senior Hope D'Addario put one of the shots on frame, floating it just over the Hoosier crossbar. Senior Summer Schafer put another shot on goal for the Illini early in the second half. The Orange and Blue dominated in the second half of play, firing 10 shots to Indiana's two.
D'Addario led the Orange and Blue with four shots on the day, also combining with senior Alia Abu-Douleh for back-to-back shots at the end of regulation.
"Right now, every team out here is fighting for something," Rayfield said. "We have to fight to get in the Big Ten Tournament, to give ourselves a chance to play behind the next eight games. That chance is out there. They have a choice right now to stick together, to bond together and fight. I think this team will do that."
The Illini will be back in action on Thursday, Sept. 22 at Maryland. The match will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for all the latest on Illinois soccer.
