CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois soccer fell to No. 20 Ohio State (10-2-3, 5-1-2), 6-1, on Sunday at Demirjian Park.
The Orange and Blue move to 7-7-2Â on the season and are now 2-5-1 in Big Ten play.
It was a tight battle during the opening 14 minutes, with neither team allowing each other to create any chances. The Illini came the closest to creating a breakthrough in the seventh minute, when Kendra Pasquale crossed a ball in from the right to Julia Eichenbaum, who back-heeled a pass into the path of Maeve Jones, but the striker was put off just as she got a shot away and her effort went wide.
The visitors found a way through the Illinois defense in the 15th minute, when Kayla Fischer played a cutback to Kailyn Dudukovich, who got to the ball just before an onrushing Julia Cili, and clipped her shot into the net, giving Ohio State a 1-0 lead.
In the 21st minute, Sydney Stephens got the ball just outside the penalty on the right wing, cut in toward the middle of the pitch and curled a left-footed strike into the bottom-left corner of the net to bring the contest level. It was the sophomore's second goal of the season, with both goals coming from outside of the penalty area.
Both teams traded shots over the next 11 minutes before Ohio State took the lead for the second time in match. In the 32nd minute, Fischer skipped past a few Illinois defenders and curled a strike into the top-left corner of the net.
The hosts nearly equalized again in the 41st minute, but Abby Lynch's strike was tipped onto the bar and over by Ohio State's keeper. The Buckeyes would go on to take the 2-1 lead into the break.
It took just 2:37 for Ohio State to score a pair of goals on the other side of halftime, with Fischer again scoring after being played through Peyton McNamara and Illinois inadvertently turning the ball into their own net just 59 seconds later.
The Illini nearly pulled on back in the 51st minute following a corner kick, but Ella Karolak's goal-bound strike was cleared off of the line. In the 53rd minute, Cili made an excellent save on a cross-turned-shot from Emma Sears, but the rebound fell to Fischer, who tapped-in from close range to complete her hat trick and make it 5-1. The Buckeyes would add their sixth goal of the game in the 74th minute when Christin Baumbick struck from distance.
Next Up
The Illini head to Madison to take on Wisconsin on Thursday, Oct. 19, in the regular season road finale.
