CHAMPAIGN – Fighting Illini soccer dropped its regular season finale to Iowa on Wednesday evening, 1-0. Despite outshooting the Hawkeyes, 10-6, Iowa netted an early goal in the match and maintained its advantage to the end. Freshman Hope Breslin led the Illini with three shots, while sophomore goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham recorded three saves on the night, bringing her season total to 106 saves this year. That number ranks second all-time on Illinois' single-season list.
"I think we came out a little bit slow in the first half and maybe that was a factor, but this team fought all the way to the end," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "They showed in the second half that it doesn't matter what the score is, it doesn't matter what our record is, they're going to be Fighting Illini until the end."
Iowa scored the only goal of the match in the seventh minute of play, converting the first shot of the match. The Illini allowed just one more shot from the Hawkeyes before the break, which was stopped by Cunningham. Junior Katie Murray got the attack going for Illinois with a shot in the 20th minute, and the Orange and Blue picked up momentum heading into the half as junior Morgan Maroney and Breslin posted shots to close the opening period.
Illinois continued its attack into the second half, as Murray and freshman Katie Le carded back-to-back shots at the Hawkeye net. Illinois kept the pressure on throughout the half, firing seven shots after the break. Despite late attempts from Breslin and junior Patricia George, Iowa would hold on to the advantage for the 1-0 victory.
The Illini close the 2017 regular season campaign with a 5-14-0 record and a 2-9-0 mark in Big Ten play.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois soccer.
