University of Illinois
Penn State
Illini Set for Road Trip To Penn State, Ohio State
October 16, 2019 | Soccer
| Illinois (8-6-0, 2-5-0) at RV Penn State (9-6-1, 5-3-0) | Illinois (8-6-0, 2-5-0) at Ohio State (4-8-2, 2-4-1) | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Thursday, October 17 | 6 PM CT | Sunday, October 20 | 1 PM CT |
| Where |
University Park, Pa. // Jeffrey Field |
Columbus, Ohio // Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium |
| Series |
Illinois trails, 4-28-0 |
Illinois trails, 9-11-3 |
| Team Information | Illinois Notes | Illinois Record Book | Penn State Notes | Illinois Notes | Illinois Record Book | Ohio State Notes |
| Live Links | Watch | Live Stats | Watch | Live Stats |
Illinois...
...is 3-2 at Demirjian Park
...has 25 goals scored by eight different players this year
...ranks fourth in the B1G for its 1.79 goals per game
...junior GK Jaelyn Cunningham ranks 3rd all-time for her 231 saves
...sophomore Makena Silber leads the Illini with 43 shots and 6 goals
...senior Kelly Maday ranks 5th in the B1G for her 0.42 assists per game
...junior Hope Breslin leads Illinois with 14 points
...has a 258-184-36 all-time soccer record
COMING UP
The Illini are headed out of town next week, traveling to Penn State for a Thursday match. Kickoff in University Park is set for 6 p.m. CT on October 17. UI will then travel to Columbus for a Sunday match at Ohio State. The Illini and the Buckeyes kick off at 1 p.m. CT on October 20.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25, the Penn State Nittany Lions boast a 9-6-1 record on the season and a 5-3-0 mark in league play. The team is coming off a pair of road wins at Indiana and Purdue. The Lady Lions average 13.56 shots per game this season, which comes in at No. 2 in the Big Ten, as do the team's 32 goals this season. A total of 11 Lady Lions have scored goals for Penn State this season, but the team is led by Ally Schlegel's 10 goals. Frankie Tagliaferri leads Penn State with her nine assists this season, and she has also added four goals.
LOOKING AT OHIO STATE
The Ohio State Buckeyes own a 4-8-2 record this season and have earned two Big Ten victories with wins over Maryland and Michigan State. The team is coming off of a road series, coming home after a double overtime scoreless draw at Purdue and a loss at Indiana. Ohio State has scored 14 goals this season and allowed 18 from its opponents. The Buckeyes are led in scoring by Kayla Fischer and Marissa Birzon who have scored four goals each so far this season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Orange and Blue hosted a pair of home matches last week, taking on the Michigan Wolverines Friday night and welcoming the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday. Illini senior Kelly Maday netted her fourth goal of the season in Friday's 4-1 loss to Michigan, and Makena Silber scored her sixth goal of the year to help send the Illini into double overtime against Michigan State on Sunday. Junior Hope Breslin converted her third penalty kick of the season in the 104th minute of play to give UI the victory over the Spartans.
THE BIG 2-0-0
Illini head coach Janet Rayfield reached another career milestone recently, earning her 200th career victory at Illinois. She has accumulated a 201-142-33 record overall as an Illini, and in her 24 total seasons on the pitch, Rayfield has accumulated 246 total wins while also leading Illinois to two Big Ten Tournament titles. She has guided the Illini soccer program to 10 NCAA Tournament victories and four NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances.
HOT START
Illinois got off to a strong start this season, closing nonconference play with a 6-1 record. The mark is the best for Illinois since also going 6-1 to start the year in 2015. Prior to that, the last time the Illini posted six nonconference victories was the 2011 campaign.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
As a team, Illinois has scored 25 goals this season, averaging 1.79 per game, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Sophomore Makena Silber leads the squad with her six goals on the year, while junior Hope Breslin has five goals this year. Eight different players have contributed to the team's scoring. A total of 17 different Illini have contributed to Illinois' attack this season, firing at least one shot on the year. Silber leads the way with 43 shots and 22 on frame. She ranks sixth in the Big Ten for her 43 shots and comes in at No. 11 in the Big Ten for her six goals. After racking up one goal and two assists against Northwestern, senior Kelly Maday also ranks among the top in league (5th) for her 0.42 assists per game. Maday's five assists this year are tied for 8th in the Big Ten.
ILLINI IN THE POLLS
Fighting Illini Soccer made its way into the polls on Sept. 24 as the Orange and Blue were receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll. Illinois' last appeared in the United Soccer Coaches poll at the start of the 2018 season (Aug. 21-Sept. 4). Regionally, The Orange and Blue check in at No. 5 in the North Region.
BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
Fighting Illini freshman Eileen Murphy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on August 27, as announced by the league office. The recognition came after the La Grange Park, Illinois, native netted the first goal of her career in a 3-2 victory over Dayton. The weekly conference honor marked the first for Murphy in her career and the first for an Illini this season.
CUNNINGHAM EARNS SUMMER RECOGNITION
Illini goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham was recognized for her work over the summer as she earned two Women's Premier Soccer League honors for the 2019 season. The senior played for the Chicago Red Stars Reserves, and was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year and won the East Region's Golden Glove Award. Cunningham played in all 10 games for the Red Stars and grabbed 15 saves on the season.
ROAD TRIP
The Illini took on a challenging nonconference slate, playing four of their seven matches on the road. Illinois headed of town for four consecutive matches, beginning in California, taking on and Pepperdine and San Francisco. The team returned to the Midwest to take on Illinois State and closed road state at Butler on Thursday. Illinois came away with a 3-1 mark from that road stretch, including a win at No. 22 Pepperdine.
MAKING THE MOVE TO DEMIRJIAN PARK
Fighting Illini soccer made its inaugural appearance at Demirjian Park with a 2-0 victory over Colorado College. Currently in the process of construction, Demirjian Park is located at 606 St. Mary's Road. Fans attending future Illini soccer home games should plan to park in one of three available lots: the Ubben Basketball Complex off of St. Mary's Road, the grass lot west of Illinois Field off Kirby Avenue or the grass lot north of Atkins Tennis Center, entering off Florida Avenue. ADA parking is available in the paved lot at the Atkins Tennis Center, accessible from Goodwin Avenue. Fans should enter Demirjian Park via the northwest corner of the field, which can be accessed via sidewalks leading from each designated parking area. There will be no entrance to Demirjian Park off of St. Mary's Road. Bleacher seating for Illinois Soccer matches will be located at the north end of the field.
RETURNING SCORING
The Orange and Blue have returned three of its four leading scorers from 2018 in Makena Silber, Hope Breslin and Kelly Maday this season. The three combined for 14 goals and 34 points last season, good for 41-percent of the team's goal scoring. In all, the Illini return 62-percent of its offense from last season, and 59-percent of its goal-scoring.
COMPETITIVE SLATE
The Orange and Blue have set out on a competitive slate for the 2019 season, which includes six 2018 NCAA Tournament teams and welcomes four of those opponents to Champaign during the season. Several of UI's 2019 opponents were ranked or receiving votes among the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 including No. 6 Penn State, No. 16 Wisconsin, RV Butler, RV Ohio State, RV Minnesota. The Illini will face three of those five opponents on the road this season, hosting Wisconsin and Minnesota to close the regular season slate.
B1G PRESEASON HONORS
Three Illini were named to the Big Ten Conference Preseason Honors List on August 19, as announced by the Big Ten Conference. Seniors Alicia Barker, Jaelyn Cunningham and Arianna Veland were listed on the conference's honor list. The Preseason Honors List is decided upon by the league's coaches and is composed of 42 student-athletes. The league also announced the 2019 Preseason Women's Soccer Poll, where the Illini checked in at No. 8 on the list. Coming in at No. 1 was Penn State, who will host the Illini on Oct. 17.
HONORING OUR ALUMNI
Fighting Illini Soccer announced the development of the Laura Redmond Ramirez Legacy and Inspiration Award in the 2016 season, prior to the team's 3-0 shutout of No. 19 Michigan. The award is given annually to an Illini player who exhibits the traits that former Illini Laura Redmond developed and demonstrated during her time at Illinois: courage, resiliency and fortitude, and the traits that she exhibited during her battle with Leukemia. Recipients of the Laura Redmond Ramirez Legacy and Inspiration award include Jenna Carosio (2016), Dr. Rachel Frank (2017) and Kristyn Hidden Miller (2018).
Also created in Redmond Ramirez' honor, the fund is dedicated to providing assistance with scholarship, educational, and student-athlete welfare costs for members of the University of Illinois soccer team. Each year, the Illini soccer program will designate a current soccer student-athlete as the Laura Redmond Ramirez Memorial Scholarship Fund recipient. The selected student-athlete will be one who best represents the legacy left by Laura Redmond Ramirez, one of courage, discipline and dedication, combined with an incredible sense of caring for those around her. Recipients of the scholarship include Katie Murray (2017) and Kelly Maday (2018).
ILLINI ROSTER FEATURES seven NEWCOMERS
The Fighting Illini soccer program and head coach Janet Rayfield will welcome six freshmen to the roster for the 2019 season as announced on Wednesday. The 2019 signing class includes Sydney Carste (Sammamish, Washington), Summer Garrison (Pasadena, California), Lilian Lucas (Plymouth, Michigan), Eileen Murphy (La Grange Park, Illinois), Ashley Prell (Fox River Grove, Illinois) and Aleah Treiterer (Sacramento, California). Illinois also welcomes Henar Urteaga, a transfer from Eastern Illinois.
"With a blend of West Coast style and Midwest grit, our 2019 class will contribute to the ability of our team to compete with teams of different styles across the country," Rayfield said. "The class of 2019 has ball-winners, speed, play-makers, great students and competitive young women. We are excited to welcome in this talented class."
ALL-TIME WINS COUNTER
Since becoming a varsity sport in 1997, the University of Illinois women's soccer team has compiled an overall record of 257-179-36 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 seasons. Head coach Janet Rayfield (201-142-33) is responsible for 76-percent of those wins and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 18 seasons at the helm.
UI NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Illinois has played in the NCAA Tournament 12 times in 20 seasons and are 11-12-3 all-time in tournament action. UI's top finish was the Elite Eight during the 2004 season, while they also reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2006, 2008 and 2013.
DEMIRJIAN PARK
University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced plans on Dec. 6, 2017 for the construction of new soccer and track and field facilities on the UI campus. The new complex will be named Demirjian Park, in honor of a lead gift from the Demirjian family of Decatur, Ill. The project will be executed in phases with full completion scheduled for the spring of 2021. Demirjian Park will feature two new soccer fields, one for competition and one for practice, located directly east of the existing track and field complex, which will itself be renovated. The project's centerpiece will be Demirjian Park Stadium, located between the new soccer fields and the renovated track. The stadium will directly benefit more than 25-percent of the Fighting Illini student-athlete population by housing team facilities for women's soccer, men's track and field, and women's track and field. State-of-the-art amenities will include locker rooms, video and meeting rooms, lounge and study spaces, sports medicine and nutrition facilities, and coaches' offices. It will also contain spaces for visiting teams and officials. Construction of the new soccer fields will be completed during the 2019 season. Demirjian Park will be fully complete and open for the 2020 soccer season, which will allow Illinois to host the 2021 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Renovations to the track and accompanying field event venues will be performed as a separate project.
