Full Schedule

CHAMPAIGN – The Fighting Illini soccer program and head coach Janet Rayfield announced the 2019 Illini soccer schedule on Tuesday. The Orange and Blue will take on six 2018 NCAA Tournament teams in 2019, welcoming four of those opponents to Champaign during the season. 

The Illini will kick off the season on Thursday, August 22, welcoming the Loyola Ramblers to Champaign. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, with the Illini holding a 3-0 series advantage. Play will continue at home on August 25 against Dayton, before the squad heads west for a pair of games in California. UI will take on both Pepperdine and San Francisco for just the second time in school history.

"Our non-conference schedule has us competing against teams that have had success in our region, which is great for post season comparisons," Rayfield said of the early slate. "Yet, we also test ourselves with travel and difference styles of soccer by traveling our West to take on Pepperdine and San Francisco.  The goal is to prepare and position ourselves for post season and this schedule will do that."

Illinois stays on the road, but will be close to home, taking on the Illinois State Redbirds in Normal, Illinois on September 8 before heading to face Butler in Indianapolis on September 12. It will be the first matchup in Indianapolis between Butler and Illinois, the Illini hold a 2-0 series advantage with the previous matches both taking place in Champaign.

After a home match against Colorado College (September 15), the Big Ten slate will commence on Saturday, September 21 in a 7 p.m. matchup against Northwestern.

"Our Big Ten schedule starts on high octane with in-state rival Northwestern and will continue to test our team each and every game," Rayfield said. "The strength of the Big Ten continues to rise and with that comes a schedule where every game is a battle and every game matters.  Being home in some of those late Big Ten matchups could be critical for us."

Conference play will continue with a pair of road matches at Iowa and Nebraska to close out the month of September, and the team will split a pair of games at the start of October, hosting Indiana on October 3 and heading to Maryland for an afternoon matchup on October 6. 

UI will take one more road trip during the season, taking on 2018 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Penn State and Ohio State in back-to-back matches, October 17 and 20, respectively. Illinois will host Michigan and Michigan State October 11 and 13, playing host to the Spartans for the seventh time since 2008. UI is undefeated in those matchups.

The regular season slate will close with a pair of home matches against Wisconsin (October 24) and Minnesota (October 27).

The Big Ten Tournament is set to take place November 1-10. All game times and dates are subject to change.

In addition to welcoming several talented newcomers this season, the Illini will return almost 60-percent of its scoring from last season including key offensive players Hope Breslin, Makena Silber and Kelly Maday. On the defensive half of the field, Alicia Barker will return to anchor a strong defense alongside rising sophomore Ashley Cathro. Illini goalkeeper Jaelyn Cunningham also returns for her senior season. Cunningham has racked up 180 career saves throughout her career so far. 

"Our returners are ready to fight for the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament," Rayfield said of her the 2019 squad. "We are competitive at that level and will step on the field from day one with that mindset. This team, with some great senior leadership in the back and down the spine of our team, is ready to train and compete like champions every day. Our newcomers will be brought into that fold right away and the depth they bring in the midfield will make an impact in this demanding 2019 season."

Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for all the latest on Illinois soccer. Fans can also follow the team on Twitter (@IlliniSoccer), Instagram (@IlliniSoccer) and Facebook (/IlliniSoccer).