University of Illinois
Loyola
Illini Soccer Opens 2019 Home Slate with Loyola, Dayton
August 20, 2019 | Soccer
| Illinois (0-0-0, 0-0-0) vs. Loyola (0-0-0, 0-0-0) | Illinois (0-0-0, 0-0-0) vs. Dayton (0-0-0, 0-0-0) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When | Thursday, August 22 | 7 PM CT | Sunday, August 25 | 1 PM CT | ||
| Where |
Illinois Soccer & Track Stadium | Champaign, Illinois |
Illinois Soccer & Track Stadium | Champaign, Illinois |
||
| Series |
Illinois leads, 3-0-0 |
Illinois leads, 1-1-0 | ||
| Team Information | Illinois Notes | Illinois Record Book | Loyola Notes | Illinois Notes | Illinois Record Book | Dayton Notes | ||
| Live Links | Watch on BTN Plus | Live Stats |
|
Illinois...
...is opening regular season play on Thursday vs. Loyola
...will honor its senior class on Sunday afternoon
...welcomes six freshmen to the 2019 squad
...returns junior GK Jaelyn Cunningham who ranks 7th all-time for her 180 saves
...will head out for four-straight road matches beginning Aug. 30
...has a 250-178-36 all-time soccer record
ITS TIME FOR THE 2019 CAMPAIGN
Fighting Illini soccer is set to open the 2019 campaign on Thursday, August 22 against the Loyola Ramblers. Illinois' home-opening weekend will continue with a Sunday matchup against Dayton. Friday's game will mark Back to School Night, with the Illini giving away up to $500 in University of Illinois textbooks. On Sunday, UI will honor its senior class and also celebrate Corn Fest in honor of the Urbana Sweet Corn Festival.
LOOKING AT LOYOLA
Also opening the season on Thursday, the Loyola Ramblers are 1-1 in exhibition play, after a loss to Milwaukee (1-3) and a 4-0 victory over Green Bay. Coming off of the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007, Loyola University Chicago was picked to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference Champions this year in the league's preseason poll. Three players were named to the Preseason All-MVC team in seniors Madison Laudeman, Sienna Cruz and sophomore Abby Swanson. The Ramblers went 11-7-1 last season, and earned a 6-1-0 mark in conference play on the way to an MVC Tournament title.
SCOUTING DAYTON
Dayton will come to Champaign after hosting Miami (Ohio) on Thursday, August 22. The Flyers are coming off of an 8-9-2 season in 2018, and were selected to finish sixth in the 2019 Atlantic 10 preseason poll. Dayton returns 16 letterwinners from the 2018 campaign, including leading scorers senior Micayla Livingston and sophomore Izzy Greene.
RETURNING #ILLINI TO WATCH
#3 Alicia Barker // Senior
The Illini senior started in all 20 of Illinois' games last season. She carries on the tradition of Illinois' flip throw-in and anchors a strong Illini defense.
#10 Hope Breslin // Junior
Breslin appeared in 12 games for the Illini during her freshman season, tallying 15 shots on the year. In her sophomore season she expanded her game, scoring five goals for Illinois. Two of her goals have been penalty kicks, and she put more than 40-percent of her shots on frame.
#15 Kelly Maday // Senior
Maday helps to bring depth to the Illini offense. She scored two goals and tallied one assist last season while also sitting among team leaders for her 22 shots on the year. Maday also netted Illinois' first goal of the 2018 season against No. 6 North Carolina and racked up four goals total last year.
#20 Makena Silber // Sophomore
An early enrollee to Illinois, Silber came to Illinois as an IHSA All-State and All-Conference honoree. She is an energetic addition to Illinois' offense, and netted her first-career goal against third-ranked Duke in 2018, while also scoring the game-winning goal against SIUE 33 seconds into the match. Silber led Illinois with her 46 shots on the year and was among team leaders with five goals. She was recognized on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team
#23 Arianna Veland // Senior
A strong presence in the midfield, Veland netted two goals at Minnesota in 2018 to give Illinois its first Big Ten win of the season. She scored both goals against the Gophers off of headers. She's scored three of her five career goals in the air.
#30 Jaelyn Cunningham // Senior
Cunningham earned the start in 18 of Illinois' games in her sophomore season and become a staple in goal for the Orange and Blue last season. Her 106 saves in 2017 season rank third all-time at Illinois and her 180 career saves ranks seventh. She was honored by the Big Ten Conference as an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree in 2018 and she denied all three of Wisconsin's penalty kick attemps in Illinois' Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal shootout.
NEWCOMERS TO WATCH
#4 Eileen Murphy // Freshman
Look for Murphy to add depth to Illinois' midfield and defensive lines. She is a two-time United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Midwest honoree and a two-time IHSA First Team All-State honoree.
#11 Aleah Treiterer // Freshman
A versatile addition to Illinois' lineup, Aleah has the capabilities to contribute to both the Illini offense and defense. She is a 2018 Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete Award Recipient and a three-year member of the ODP Region IV team.
COMPETITIVE SLATE
The Orange and Blue will take on six 2018 NCAA Tournament teams in 2019, welcoming four of those opponents to Champaign during the season. Several of UI's upcoming opponents are 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.
RETURNING SCORING
The Orange and Blue will return 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.
ROAD TRIP
The Illini are set for a challenging nonconference slate, playing four of their seven matches on the road. Illinois is heading out of town for four consecutive matches, beginning with a pair of games in California in Pepperdine and San Francisco, before taking on both Illinois State and Butler closer to home.
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 250-178-36 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 seasons. Head coach Janet Rayfield (193-136-33) 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.
