University of Illinois
North Carolina
Illini Host #2 North Carolina For Demirjian Park Grand Opening
August 25, 2021 | Soccer
Preview
| Illinois (2-0-0) vs North Carolina (2-0-0) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Thursday, August 26 // 8 PM CT | ||
| Where |
Demirjian Park // Champaign, IL |
||
| Series |
Tar Heels lead, 0-3-0 |
||
| Team Information | Illinois Notes | Illinois Record Book | ||
| Live Links | Live Stats, Big Ten Network |
|
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The fighting Illini soccer team will welcome the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to Demirjian Park in a Thursday night showdown. Kickoff is set for 8 PM CT and will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
Illinois will celebrate the grand opening of Demirjian Park to the public Thursday night. The Demirjian family, led by UI alumni Richard Demirjian (LAS, '88) and Kara Demirjian-Huss (ACES, '92), who provided a lead gift of $7 million to develop Demirjian Park, will be honored in a pregame ceremony. In addition, to celebrate the 25th season of Illini Soccer, alumni from past years will be honored at halftime of the match.
The Orange and Blue are coming off of an undefeated opening weekend which saw the Illini defeat Missouri 4-0 and Illinois State 5-1. Redshirt senior Hope Breslin led the scoring frenzy on the opening road trip, scoring her first goal at Missouri and adding a hat trick against the Redbirds. Senior Makena Silber added a brace at Illinois State and tallied two assists on the weekend, while redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale and freshmen Maeve Jones and Abby Lynch added a goal for the Illini.
Head coach Janet Rayfield is matching up with her alma mater for the fourth time in her Illini career, searching for her first win against hall of fame coach Anson Dorrance, who coached Rayfield during her time as a Tar Heel.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are one of the most historic franchises in all of NCAA Soccer, led by their only head coach in program history and National Soccer Hall of Fame coach Anson Dorrance. North Carolina has won the national championship 22 times as a program and most recently made the College Cup semifinals last season. Illinois is 0-3-0 against the Tar Heels all-time, with the last meeting on Aug. 16, 2018, going in favor of the Tar Heels 1-3 in Chapel Hill. North Carolina was picked to finish second in the ACC this season, and senior Rachel Jones and junior Maycee Bell were named to the preseason All-ACC list.
ILLINOIS…
- …nine goals scored in two matches are the most over a two-match stretch since the Illini scored 10 goals vs. Northern Illinois (8) and Oklahoma State (2) in 2018.
- …Had eight players make their Illini debuts over the opening weekend (freshmen Maddie Mariani, Abby Lynch, Sydney Stephens, Maeve Jones, Angie Galo, Ella Karolak, and sophomores Julia Cili and Mackenzie Schuler).
- …Hope Breslin and Kendra Pasquale broke the Illini record for the fastest pair of goals in school history, scoring just 22 seconds apart at Mizzou.
- …Hope Breslin scored the first Illini hat trick since Janelle Flaws in 2015.
- …face their highest ranked opponent since falling to #2 Portland 1-4 in 2009.
- …last win against a ranked opponent came when they defeated #22 Pepperdine 3-2 in 2019.
UP NEXT
After the Thursday night showdown with UNC, Illinois will host Butler on Sunday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 PM CT and will be broadcasted on B1G+. The match will also mark senior day, where Illinois seniors will be honored for their hard work and dedication to Illini Soccer.
FOLLOW THE ILLINI
For the latest news and information on Illini Soccer, be sure to follow @Illinisoccer on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and tune in to fightingillini.com.
