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University of Illinois Athletics

goal celebration
2
Winner Illinois ILL (6-4-1, 6-4-1)
1
Northwestern NU (5-6-0, 5-6-0)
Winner
Illinois ILL
(6-4-1, 6-4-1)
2
Final
1
Northwestern NU
(5-6-0, 5-6-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Illinois ILL 0 2 2
Northwestern NU 1 0 1

Game Recap: Soccer |

Illini Down Northwestern In Late-Game Comeback

Recap

EVANSTON, IL. – The Fighting Illini soccer team defeated Northwestern 2-1 Saturday afternoon in Evanston after a successful second-half comeback with goals from Maggie Hillman and the game-winner by Kendra Pasquale in the 88th minute.

After going down by a goal in the first-half, Maggie Hillman scored the equalizer in the 69th minute of the second-half, her first of her career. Strong defensive stops by the Illini kept the momentum on the Orange and Blue side, and in the 88th minute, Kendra Pasquale received a beautiful pass from Summer Garrison to the left side of the goal, where Pasquale snuck the ball underneath a bounding Northwestern goalkeeper for the game-winning goal.

It was a physical game in the first-half, with each team trading fouls and possessions on their own ends. Northwestern broke through early with a goal in the 14th minute of the game to give the Wildcats the early lead. With just two shots and one corner kick opportunity in the first-half, the Illini went into the break down by one.

In the second, the Illini began to build momentum offensively, spending more time in their offensive end and keeping the play aggressive on defense. Maggie Hillman broke through in the 69th minute and scored her first-career goal after a steal by Zoey Kollhoff was tapped to Hillman and drove into the back of the net to tie the game at one. After trading offensive possessions with Northwestern and the Illini back line shutting down the Wildcats defensively, Summer Garrison stole the ball from a Northwestern defender in the box. Garrison passed the ball left to Pasquale, who managed to sneak a kick underneath the diving Northwestern goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

The Illini finish the regular season 6-4-1 and with heavy momentum heading into the Big Ten Tournament next weekend, Apr. 8 and 11. Information on B1G Regional Weekend will be released soon.

UP NEXT

The Illini begin postseason play next weekend with the Big Ten Regional Weekend Apr. 8 and 11. The Illini have a strong possibility of being one of four regional hosts for the preliminary rounds of the four-team B1G Tournament. More information will be released soon. 

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