INDIANAPOLIS – In a hard-fought battle against No. 17 Butler, the Illinois soccer team came out victorious as junior Julia Eichenbaum scored her first career goal with just over one minute left in regulation to send the Illini to a 1-0 win on Thursday (Aug. 25) night at Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.
Illinois started its season at 3-0-0 for the first time since 2019, with UI's last win over a ranked foe also coming during the 2019 season in a 3-2 win over No. 22 Pepperdine on Aug. 30.
The Illini win was also just the fourth loss for the Bulldogs on their home turf since the 2017 season.
"Tonight, was a collective, hard-fought battle from start to finish," said head coach Janet Rayfield. "Butler is a talented well coached team and they make it a hard place to win. We took a tremendous step forward tonight not just in the victory but in competing the way we did. I am so proud of this group! Tomorrow we will continue the process - learning from this game, getting better, and preparing to compete again!"
It was back and forth battle throughout the opening period, with both teams pressing for the game's first goal. Junior goalkeeper Julia Cili and the Illini defense had several strong moments in the half to keep the score at 0-0 entering the break.
The Illini brought the energy to open the second half, with sophomore Maeve Jones providing a great scoring opportunity early in the half as she turned at the top of the box and fired a shot that was turned away by the Butler goalkeeper.
The two teams continued to battle it out in the midfield with neither team backing down until with just over a minute remaining in regulation when Jones and Eichenbaum combined for the game-winning score. Jones carried the ball at the top of the Butler box and played a through ball to Eichenbaum on the right side, who then sprinted past the Bulldog defense and slotted it past BU goalkeeper Anna Pierce for the 1-0 Illini win.
The Illini finished with nine shots to the Bulldogs' 13, while both teams registered three corners each and combined for 15 fouls in the match. Eichenbaum led the way with four shots – with all four coming on goal, while senior Kendra Pasquale added two shots in the win.
Cili totaled four saves on the night en route to her second shutout of the season.
Next Up
The Illini next face Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. CT.
