By Jackson Janes

In the wilderness of northwestern Michigan, the Fighting Illini soccer team closed its preseason schedule with an exhibition game against Virginia, using the four-day trip to also go on a team retreat ahead of the regular season. 

The retreat featured team bonding experiences, which included a group bonfire, a trip to watch the sunset on the sand dunes, and Minute to Win It challenges. The team stayed in dorms and held game nights, something head coach Janet Rayfield found especially beneficial.

"The itinerary wasn't as important as the opportunity in the down time," Rayfield said. "What we did didn't look much different than what we would do here in our on times. What's really different about that environment is what they're able to do in their off times, and spending off times together is as important as spending the on times together."

Along with team bonding time, Illinois held three practices leading up to its exhibition against ACC powerhouse Virginia, which sits fourth in the top-25 preseason rankings. Though the Cavaliers were a top seed in the NCAA tournament last season, the Illini took care of business and returned to Champaign with a 2-1 upset victory.

Freshman Lia Howard says the team's work ethic was the biggest key to success and helped the Illini round off a 2-0 preseason following a 5-0 exhibition win over Eastern Illinois in Champaign on Aug. 6.

"I think the biggest thing in that game was our work ethic," Howard said. "We also went into that game believing in every single person that was on the field, which was just such an incredible feeling. Before the game, we had a little team chat. And we were all like, 'We believe in each other. We trust each other to do this, so let's get it done.' And that's exactly what we did. And at the end of the day, I think we just worked so, so hard for that, and we wanted it so bad, and the result definitely proved that."

The win might not count toward the team's record, but it serves as a confidence booster heading into the regular season, says redshirt senior Kendra Pasquale.

"That was an unbelievable moment for us and I think one to definitely acknowledge and highlight," Pasquale said. "If anything, I think it showed that we can play with anyone. So as such an early exhibition game for us, I think that is a confidence boost to know that we can match up. 

"We have a long way ahead of us, but that moment is definitely one that we can look back on as the season comes to know that whoever we're facing, whether it's Virginia, whoever the name is on the jersey, that as long as we play our best and focus on us and keep going with the process, we're going to be a great team, and I think that was awesome for us."

Pasquale is one of the most experienced players on the Illini's roster this season, and she has recorded 43 starts over the last three seasons. The Naperville native notched four goals and two assists last year, starting 16 of Illinois' 17 games.

After redshirting her first collegiate season, Pasquale is savoring every game and practice she plays in in her fifth year in Champaign.

"I'm just super grateful to still be here," Pasquale said. "Each practice, each game I go into, I just try and take a second to remember I've had a great career so far here, and I wouldn't change it."

The Michigan retreat was especially impactful for sophomore Ella Karolak, who hails from the state. She says she has visited the area the team stayed and competed at several times with her family, and her parents made the four-and-a-half drive from Grosse Pointe north to watch the scrimmage.

Karolak appeared in six games as a freshman last year. With eight freshmen on this season's roster, she is happy with the effort and commitment everyone has shown thus far and called preseason "a process."

"We take each day at a time, focus on the little things," Karolak said. "Each day has a purpose. If that's attacking, defending, whatever, we give 100% on those days, and we're just making the most out of every day."

Howard is still adapting to the intensity of the college game, and she says the pace of collegiate soccer is "nothing like I've ever played in before."

Howard comes to Illinois from New York, where she was named the 2021-2022 Gatorade New York Girls Soccer Player of the Year. She hails from Massapequa, the same hometown as former Illini star and current Angel City FC midfielder Hope Breslin.

Still learning how teammates' styles of play and building chemistry, Howard likes where the team stands heading into the regular season and two exhibition wins under their belt.

"I think the talent's there and the work rate's there," Howard said. "There's so much grit and so much determination in everybody. And I really see something that's building for sure, and I think it's honestly just used as fuel, knowing that we're the underdog, knowing that we didn't have the best season (last year). It's definitely a little fire in us that we want to prove something."

Illinois opens its regular-season schedule on Thursday night against Illinois State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Demirjian Park in Champaign.

With the regular season less than one week away, Rayfield says the team is "on the right track" following the win over Virginia and has put last year in the rearview mirror.

"We're on the right track, and now the challenge is, can we consistently perform, and if we can focus on the consistency of our performance and the consistency of our growth, then I think we'll be where we want to be at the end," Rayfield said. "I think the Virginia game was just that. We stepped out, we played confidently, and we confirmed we're on the right track, and now we just have to keep getting better."