BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Fighting Illini senior Kara Marbury netted her first two goals of the season on Sunday, helping Illinois to secure a 3-1 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers. Sophomore Kelly Maday also scored her second goal of the season in the win. Illinois improves to 4-10-0 on the season and 1-5-0 in league play.
"It was a true team effort today," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "We have been fighting and battling, and to see it pay off is great for this team. We finished our chances, defended well, especially on restarts, and our midfield played collectively very well. I know this will be another turning point for this group, but we must continue down the path we have been on, Kaizen."
The two teams battled to get off to a strong offensive start as the Hoosiers posted the first shot of the game in the fourth minute. Marbury quickly responded, however, putting a shot on goal just two minutes later. The Illini worked to keep the ball on their offensive side of the field throughout the half, and sophomore Arianna Veland added a shot of her own to Illinois' tally in the 19th minute.
Marbury gave Illinois its lead in the 26th minute, converting a pass from Patricia George to net her first goal of the season. The assist is the second for George this year as well. Illinois put three of its four first-half shots on goal, while sophomore goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham grabbed two saves before the break to keep Indiana scoreless.
Both teams continued to fight after the break, but Cunningham held strong throughout the game, grabbing six saves overall in Illinois' victory.
Maday secured the game for the Orange and Blue in the 82nd minute, beating the Hoosier goalkeeper to a through-pass from Morgan Maroney and putting the shot into the far corner of the net. Cunningham was also credited with her first career assist on the goal.
Marbury didn't have to wait long for her next score, giving Illinois a 3-0 lead just five minutes later. She took advantage of a pass from freshman Katie Le and fired a long shot from the top of the box, past the Indiana goalkeeper. The assist marks the first for Le in her career.
The Hoosiers found the back of the net in the 89th minute of play, but Indiana could not overcome Illinois' 3-1 lead as the Orange and Blue take home their first conference victory.
The Illini posted eight shots to Indiana's 11, putting five on goal. Marbury led Illinois with three shots in the match, while Maday carded two shots. Morgan Maroney and Katie Le also contributed to the offensive attack.
The Illini return to Champaign to host Northwestern on Saturday, October 7 at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois soccer.
