MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A chilly evening in front of a nationally-televised audience on the Big Ten Network saw the Fighting Illini soccer team drop a 5-0 decision to Minnesota Thursday night.
Illinois (5-8-1, 1-5-1 B1G) was led by freshman Sydney Stephens, who recorded two shots (both on-goal) on the evening. Minnesota (7-4-3, 3-4-0 B1G) was led by a brace from McKenna Buisman and goals from three other Gophers (Langdok, Conner, Baker).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gophers began the first third of the match pushing for an early goal, but Illinois' defense was able to lock the Gopher attack down. Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Cili made two early saves, while the defense pushed away seven Gopher shot attempts to keep Minnesota scoreless.
Redshirt junior Ashley Cathro kicked off the chances for the Illini, taking a shot from outside the box that missed high left of the goal. Freshman Maeve Jones followed up Cathro with a chance of her own, heading a ball from a Hope Breslin pass that went out to the left of the goal for a goal kick.
Minnesota got on the board in the 20th minute after Cili's attempt to clear the ball out from in front of the box ricocheted off of Minnesota's Buisman and into the back of the net.
Illinois responded quickly to the Gopher goal with chances of their own. Sophomore Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal fired a shot wide-left and junior Eileen Murphy sent a rocket above the net.
The Gophers grabbed their second goal of the match in the 31st minute, but again the Illini responded well with three chances by Makena Silber, Maggie Hillman, and Jones which were all cleared by the Gopher defense.
Another Minnesota goal came in the 39th minute from deep to make the score 3-0 in favor if the Gophers, and soon after scored their fourth goal of the evening. After llinois failed to see another chance in the first half, Minnesota went into the half with the 4-0 lead.
The Illini responded strong to begin the second half, pushing offensively to find chances and defending the ball well, clearing four Gopher chances and finding a chance of their own from freshman Sydney Stephens that was saved by the Minnesota keeper.
Illinois again cleared three consecutive Gopher shot attempts, including two saves from freshman goalkeeper Naomi Jackson, before finding a chance in the 70th minute. Senior Ashleigh Lefevre served a ball into the box for Breslin, who had beaten her defender. She fired a shot that was saved by the Minnesota keeper.
A chance five minutes later from Silber was sent wide left of the goal, and the Illini again defended away three Gopher shot attempts in the final ten minutes of the match. A late Gopher goal in the 89th minute moved the score to 5-0, which proved to be the final score for the match.
QUOTING COACH RAYFIELD
"Credit to Minnesota, they came at us in a frenzied fury from the first whistle. We looked flat and made crucial mistakes that put us behind before we could get a hold of the game. We talk about having to set the tone and we let Minnesota set it tonight. We need to re-focus, figure out why we were flat, and show up on Sunday ready to battle from the first whistle."
ILLINOIS NOTES
- The Illini move to 5-8-1 (1-5-1 B1G) in the loss at Wisconsin.
- Redshirt junior Ashley Cathro recorded the 11th consecutive match in which she played the full time, recording 90 minutes at Minnesota.
- Senior Katelynn Buescher recorded a season-high 45 minutes at Minnesota.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue continue their road trip this weekend traveling to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, Oct. 17 for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff on B1G+.
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