CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A rain-soaked afternoon at Demirjian Park didn't stop the Fighting Illini soccer team from earning their first Big Ten win of the season. The Fighting Illini rallied with two second-half goals to defeat Maryland, 2-1, and help head coach Janet Rayfield earn her 100th win over a Big Ten Conference opponent, Sunday afternoon.
Illinois (5-7-0, 1-4-0 B1G) was led by freshman Maeve Jones' equalizing goal in the 65th minute, while senior Ashleigh Lefevre scored her first-career goal in the 76th minute to will the Illini to their first home victory of the season. Maryland (4-5-4, 0-3-2 B1G) was aided by an eighth minute goal by Hope Lewandoski and goalkeeper Liz Brucia's eight saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The two B1G foes started the match strong defensively, with each team getting great chances that were snubbed out by the opposing defense. Redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale had an early chance, breaking away from the Terrapin defenders, but was chased down and defended away by Maryland.
Pasquale created another great chance in the seventh minute, narrowly missing senior Makena Silber on a through ball. Immediately after, redshirt senior Hope Breslin's sent a pass in front of the net toward Silber, but the Illini were unable to capitalize on the chance.
Maryland took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute after a Breslin pass near midfield was intercepted by a Terrapin defender. Kori Locksley grabbed the ball and shoveled it to Lewandoski who found the back of the net to give the Terrapins an early advantage.
A multitude of chances were earned in the rest of the half, but Illinois was unable to break through despite tallying a season-most 11 corner kicks.
Maryland began the second half looking to add on to their lead, firing five shots, with two of those chances being saved by Illini goalkeeper Julia Cili. Illinois' first chance of the second period came on after Jones' shot ricocheted off the top crossbar, and Breslin's follow up attempt was saved by Maryland.
Illinois found the equalizer in the 65th minute. On the left side of the field, redshirt junior Ashley Cathro received a pass from Pasquale, then served a cross into the box to Jones who tapped the ball into the back of the net with her right foot to tie the match, 1-1.
The Orange and Blue kept pushing to find the game-winner, earning two corner kicks directly after the equalizing goal. Breslin fired two great shots on net that were both saved by the Maryland keeper.
In the 75th minute of the match, Pasquale fired a rocket to the bottom right of the net that was saved away by the Terrapin keeper. Silber fired a shot off the rebound and saw it bounce off the top crossbar to Pasquale. Pasquale then sent a shot across the net that was defended away by Maryland. Lefevre was in the right place at the right time, as the Maryland defender couldn't control the ball in front of the goal and she tapped the ball into the back of the net for the game-winner.
The Illini defense locked down Maryland for the remainder of the match, allowing no chances for the Terrapins to grab an equalizer, and Illinois sealed the victory, 2-1.
QUOTING COACH RAYFIELD
"I am happy for this team. Â They have shown resilience and continued to fight and they earned this result today. Â Our flank attack was dangerous and created corners, serves in the box and ultimately the two goals we needed to win. Â Now we must continue to work and earn the next one."Â
ILLINOIS NOTES
- The Illini improve to 5-7-0 (1-4-0 B1G) in the victory over Maryland.
- Illinois Soccer head coach Janet Rayfield earned her 100th B1G win of her career in the win over Maryland. Rayfield now ranks fourth in Big Ten history.
- Illinois earned 14 corner kicks vs. Maryland, including 11 in the first half. This is a season-high in corners and also ranks as the fourth-most corner kicks in a match in program history.
- Senior Ashleigh Lefevre scored her first career goal vs. Maryland, which was also her first career game-winning goal.
- Freshman Maeve Jones recorded her third goal on the season vs. Maryland.
- Freshman Maeve Jones recorded a career-high five shots and three shots-on-goal vs. Maryland.
- Redshirt junior Ashley Cathro recorded her first assist of the season vs. Maryland.
- Redshirt junior Ashley Cathro recorded the ninth match in a row this season playing the full match.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Cili made her return vs. Maryland after missing the past six matches. She recorded four saves on ten shots faced.
- Redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale played the full match for the fifth match in a row after putting in 90 minutes vs. Maryland.
- Junior Eileen Murphy played the full match for the sixth match in a row after putting in 90 minutes vs. Maryland.
UP NEXT
The Illini will kick off homecoming weekend next Friday night, facing off against No. 18 Wisconsin. Illinois soccer will also host its annual Soktoberfest event, with fall-related activities at the match to be announced. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted on B1G+.
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