UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Fighting Illini soccer fell to No. 14 Penn State, 2-0, on Friday, Sept. 30. Senior goalkeeper Claire Wheatley grabbed four saves in the match, but the Orange and Blue could not hold off the Nittany Lions. Illinois falls to 3-9-1 overall and 0-4-1 in Big Ten play.
"Tonight we got outplayed by a very good Penn State team," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "We made too many technical mistakes and just didn't respond well as a group to those mistakes. Although we have struggled to score, this was the first game that we struggled to keep the ball, and Penn State had a lot to do with that. We will keep teaching and challenging our team to be better. There is still a lot of soccer left, and we have to believe in what we can, do not what our results say about us."
Illinois posted three shots in the first half of play, as senior Summer Schafer started things off for the Orange and Blue in the first minute. Sophomore Katie Murray also took a chance for Illinois, as did junior Kara Marbury who returned to the starting lineup Friday after recovering from injury.
Penn State took the lead with a goal in the 13th minute of the match. The No. 14 Nittany Lions followed that up with another goal in the 65th minute of play. Penn State outshot the Illini 21-3, putting six shots on goal.
The Illini will return to Champaign to host both Michigan and Michigan State next week. Illinois will host the Wolverines Thursday, Oct. 6 for Cancer Awareness Night. UI will welcome back 20 years of soccer alumni on Sunday for the team's 1 p.m. match against Michigan State. The first 30 fans to arrive at Illinois Soccer Stadium will receive soccer pennants commemorating the 20th season of Illinois soccer.
