Illinois...

...will appear on the Big Ten Network Thursday

...is 3-2 at Demirjian Park

...has 26 goals scored by eight different players this year

...ranks fourth in the B1G for its 1.69 goals per game

...junior GK Jaelyn Cunningham ranks 3rd all-time for her 239 saves

...sophomore Makena Silber leads the Illini with 55 shots and 6 goals

...Silber ranks second in the B1G for her shot total this year

...senior Kelly Maday ranks 5th in the B1G for her six assists

...junior Hope Breslin leads Illinois with 16 points 

...has a 258-185-37 all-time soccer record

COMING UP

The Illini will close regular season play at Demrijian Park this weekend, hosting No. 10 Wisconsin on Thursday and welcoming Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. Thursday's game is set to air live on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. Sunday's match will mark Halloween Day. Fans are encouraged to come dressed in costume, and there will be a kids costume contest at halftime. The Illini will also hand out free pumpkin bags to all kids in eighth grade or under. 

SCOUTING WISCONSIN

Ranked at No. 10 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25, the Badgers are 11-2-2 on the season with an undefeated 7-0-1 mark in Big Ten play. Wisconsin is coming off of a 2-0 victory over Nebraska and a double overtime draw against Iowa. The Badgers have scored 21 goals this season, allowing just seven from their opponents. Dani Rhodes leads Wisconsin with her eight goals and 52 shots on the year, numbers that also rank among Big Ten league leaders.   

LOOKING AT MINNESOTA

The Minnesota Golden Gophers own a 2-11-4 record on the season with a 1-6-2 mark in Big Ten play. Minnesota has earned victories over NC State and Ohio State this season. The team is coming off of a loss to Iowa and a 1-1 tie against Nebraska. Minnesota has scored seven goals this season and allowed 19 from its opponents. Five Gophers have netted goals for the team this year, led by Athena Kuehn and Makenzie Langdok who have two apiece. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Orange and Blue closed the regular season road slate with a pair of hard-fought matches. Illinois traveled to Penn State last Thursday, for an evening contest. Hope Breslin scored her sixth goal of the season at Penn State, but the Illini fell to the Nittany Lions, 1-2. UI continued to battle in Sunday's match at Ohio State, shutting out the Buckeyes in a scoreless draw.  

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 201-143-34 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 26 goals this season, averaging 1.69 per game, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Sophomore Makena Silber and junior Hope Breslin lead the squad with six goals on the year, a number that checks in at ninth in the Big Ten. 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 55 shots and 26 on frame. She ranks second in the Big Ten for her 55 shots and comes in at No. 4 in the Big Ten for her 3.44 shots per game. After racking up one goal and two assists against Northwestern, senior Kelly Maday also ranks among the top in league (5th) for her 0.43 assists per game. Maday's sixth assists this year are tied for 5th in the Big Ten as well. 

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 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 faced 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 257-180-37 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 seasons. Head coach Janet Rayfield (201-144-34) 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.