CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – On a brisk Thursday evening at Demirjian Park, the Illinois soccer team turned in a hard-fought effort that saw the Fighting Illini outshoot visiting Xavier. But the Orange and Blue were unable to capitalize on the advantage, and the missed opportunities resulted in a 2-1 setback to the Musketeers.
The Illini (2-3-0) tallied 18 total shots but managed to put only four of those on goal. Xavier (5-0-0) challenged Illinois' sophomore keeper Julia Cili putting 10 of their 16 shots on goal, eventually finding the back of the net twice to remain undefeated.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Xavier struck first in the 12th minute when Emma Marcus received a pass from her teammate, performed a spin move on the right side of the box and dumped the ball to Ella Rogers, who fired the ball towards the top left of the goal and found the back of the net to put the Musketeers up 1-0 early.
Illinois responded with a chance of their own right off the kickoff, when senior Makena Silber found herself in on the Xavier keeper but fired a ball that went just wide left of the goal. Senior Hope Breslin missed a chance of her own in the 16th minute, heading a ball from Eileen Murphy that was saved by the Xavier keeper. The Illini and Musketeers traded opportunities the rest of the half as each team shot the ball four times, to no avail, and went into the half with the Musketeers up 1-0.
The Orange and Blue came out in the second half with offense on their mind, and in the 50th minute of the game the Illini broke through. Kendra Pasquale stole the ball from a Xavier defender in the Musketeer third and fired a shot towards the center of the goal. After the Xavier keeper deflected Pasquale's shot attempt, Makena Silber was right there to clean up the deflection and fire the ball into the back of the net for the equalizer. Xavier responded one minute later with a goal of their own after a pass from Hayley Jackovich was lobbed toward the net to Chloe Netzel who was able to beat an Illini defender and find the back of the net to put the Musketeers up 2-1.
The Illini created several more quality scoring opportunities throughout the second half, including two great chances in the waning minutes of the game. Kendra Pasquale sent a beautiful pass toward the left side of the goal, which was headed by Hope Breslin but struck the left post. Then, with less than two minutes to go, Pasquale sent a free-kick down the field towards a sprinting Lauren Stibich who was beyond the Xavier keeper but fired her shot just above the top of the frame, ending what would prove to be the Illini's last chance. Â
QUOTING COACH RAYFIELD
"Although it's a 90-minute game, the results come down to executing in a few key moments. On both ends tonight we didn't execute in those moments" head coach Janet Rayfield said. "The chances we created in the second half were the brand of soccer we want to play. We will get to work this week, build on that brand, and focus on our decisions and executions in those key moments."
ILLINOIS NOTES
- Senior Makena Silber scored her 17th career goal vs. Xavier. This puts her in a tie for 11th all-time in career goals scored.
- Redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale recorded her first assist of the season and the fourth of her career.
- Freshman Angie Galo started her first-career game vs. Xavier and recorded a career-high 90 minutes played.
- Senior Hope Breslin and redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale both played a season-high 90 minutes.
- Redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale fired a season-high three shots.
- Sophomore Julia Cili recorded a career-high eight saves.
- Freshman Maddie Mariani recorded a career-high two shots.
UP NEXT
Illinois travels to the Buckeye State next week to begin a three-match road stretch, visiting MAC foes Bowling Green on Thursday, Sept. 9, and Toledo on Sunday, Sept. 12. Illinois begins Big Ten play on Sept. 17 with a trip to Michigan.
