Illinois...
...is opening Big Ten play on Friday vs. Northwestern
...is giving away free tambourines to the first 200 fans on Friday
...played its inaugural match at Demirjian Park on Sunday
...has 16 goals scored by seven different players this year
...ranks third in the B1G for its 2.29 goals per game
...returns junior GK Jaelyn Cunningham who ranks 5th all-time for her 207 saves
...sophomore Makena Silber leads the Illini with 26 shots and four goals
...junior Hope Breslin leads Illinois with nine points
...has a 256-179-36 all-time soccer record
COMING UP
Fighting Illini soccer is set to open Big Ten play on Friday, hosting Northwestern at 7 p.m. Held at Demirjian Park, the game will mark World Cup Night to celebrate the U.S. Women's National Team's 2019 Women's World Cup Championship. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite jersey to the match, and the first 200 fans to arrive will receive a free tambourine. Friday's game will be streamed via BTN+, and fans can follow live scoring at FightingIllini.com.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
The Northwestern Wildcats are 2-4-1 on the season, and will face the Illini after dropping their last two matches against Kansas andd at Harvard. The team earned victories over Cincinnati and William and Mary this season, with goals from five different Wildcats. Junior Regan Steigleder leads Northwestern with her 13 shots on the year, while Danika Austin is also among team leaders for her two assists.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini went 2-0 last weekend, closing out a four-game road trip with a 2-1 win at Butler. With a goal from Kelly Maday and a penalty kick from Eileen Murphy, the victory marked the Bulldogs' first home loss since 2016. The Illini then opened Demirjian Park in style with a 2-0 win over Colorado College, earning the program's first shutout of the season. Sophomore Makena Silber netted two goals for the Illini in a span of five minutes to earn the victory.
THE BIG 2-0-0
Illini head coach Janet Rayfield is approaching another career milestone as she has racked up 199 victories at Illinois, good for a 199-137-33 record overall. In her 24 total seasons on the pitch, Rayfield has accumulated 244 total wins, and has led 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.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
As a team, Illinois has scored 16 goals this season, averaging 2.29 per game, which ranks third in the Big Ten. Sophomore Makena Silber leads Illinois with four goals this year, while Hope Breslin and senior Arianna Veland have three goals each so far this year. Seven different players have contributed to the team's scoring. A total of 12 different Illini have contributed to Illinois' attack this season, firing at least one shot on the year. Silber leads the way with 26 shots and 13 on frame. Silber ranks fourth in the league for her 3.71 shots per game, while Breslin checks in at No. 2 for
her 0.43 assists per game this year. Breslin's 1.29 points per game rank fifth in the conference.
As a team, the Illini rank 48th in the nation for their 16 total goals, while SIlber comes in at No. 46 in the country for her 3.71 shots per game.
HOT START
Illinois is off to a strong start this season, closing nonconference play with a 6-1 record. The mark is the best for Illinois since also goinng 6-1 to start the year in 2015. Prior to that, the last time the Illini psoted six nonconference victories was the 2011 campaign.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ROAD TRIP
The Illini have taken 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.
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."
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.
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 256-179-36 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 20 seasons. Head coach Janet Rayfield (199-136-33) 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.
