CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini Soccer earned its first victory of the season on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the DePaul Blue Demons. Junior Lauren Ciesla scored her first career goal to put the Illini ahead to start the second half, and junior Patricia George followed up with the game-winner in the 88th minute of the match. With the win, Illinois improves to 1-1-0 on the season.
"The first half really wasn't what we wanted to see today, but I have to credit the team for figuring that out, saying, 'hey, that's not us,' and rebounding in the second half to play much more aggressively," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "I think that made the difference; we were able to keep the ball on their {DePaul's} end and win a few more balls. We grinded this game out a little bit, especially in the second half, and knowing that we have that skillset is going to be important going forward."
The Illini defense held strong through the first half of play, as the teams were scoreless going into halftime at Illinois Soccer Stadium. The Blue Demons fired 10 shots during the opening period, and sophomore goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham tallied four saves before the break. She finished with six saves in the game, and earned her first career victory.
The Illini turned it around during the second half of play, attacking the DePaul goal from the start and firing back-to-back shots in the 55th minute. Ciesla netted her first career goal in the 68th minute capitalizing off of a pass from sophomore Alicia Barker and taking a long shot that sailed into the far corner of the net. The assist also marks the first for Barker in her career.
The Blue Demons netted the equalizer in the 76th minute of the game, but Illinois did not let up. The Orange and Blue fought back despite three consecutive corner kick attempts from DePaul late in the game. Sophomore Kelly Maday fired 
a shot on goal in the 88th minute, which was deflected off of the DePaul goalkeeper. George recovered the loose ball and headed it into the back of the net to give Illinois the victory. The goal is the first for George this season and the fourth in her career.
George led the Illini with three shots in the match, freshman Gabbi Chapa and junior Morgan Maroney also added shots for the Orange and Blue. DePaul fired 15 shots to Illinois' seven, but the Blue Demons fall to 0-2-0 on the season.
The Illini are back at home on Thursday, August 24, hosting Washington at 7 p.m. The match will mark Back to School night, and the Illini will give away thundersticks and Back-2-School packs for fans in attendance.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for all the latest on Illinois soccer.
