Fighting Illini Soccer Set for Final Road Trip of the Season

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois soccer continues Big Ten play this week with its lone conference two-match road trip of the season. The Illini will face Indiana on Thursday before taking on Rutgers on Sunday. Kickoffs are set for 6 p.m. and 12 p.m. CT, respectively.

The 2024 season marks the 28th season of Illinois soccer, with the Illini holding an overall record of 289-224-48 (.558), and the 23rd season under the leadership of head coach Janet Rayfield.

 LAST TIME OUT

The Illini went 0-2-0 in their previous matchweek, suffering a 3-2 defeat to No. 19 USC on Oct. 10 before a 3-1 loss to UCLA on Oct. 13.

The Trojans jumped out to 3-0 over the Illini in the 73rd minute, but Kennedy Berschel's fourth goal of the season just 25 seconds later sparked a furious rally, which saw Lauren Seppi cut the lead to one in the 78th minute with a brilliant curling strike from outside the penalty area. The Orange and Blue would ultimately fall just short as they were unable to come up with an equalizer.

The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals within 15 minutes on each side of the halftime break, but Illinois would battle back again, this time through an Angie Galo goal from distance to make it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. UCLA would restore the two-goal advantage in the 58th minute and would see out the rest of the match.

SCOUTING INDIANA

The Fighting Illini have a 14-9-4 all-time record against the Hoosiers, dropping the last contest 2-1 on Sept. 21, 2023, at Demirjian Park. Indiana comes into the match with a 6-6-2 record on the year and a 1-6-1 record in conference play. In their last matchweek, the Hoosiers played a pair of home matches and went 0-1-1, with a 0-0 draw against Purdue and a 1-0 loss against Wisconsin. 

Preseason, Indiana was tabbed to finish 10th in the Big Ten with goalkeeper Jamie Gernstenberg, and defenders Avery Snead and Piper Coffield being named to the preseason players to watch list. 

SCOUTING RUTGERS

Illinois has a 1-4-1 record against Rutgers all-time, falling in the last meeting 3-0 in the final game of the 2021 season. The Scarlet Knights own a 9-2-3 record on the season and a 5-1-2 record In the Big Ten going 1-1-0 in their last two with a win against Nebraska before losing to No. 9 Iowa. 

Rutgers was picked to finish 7th in the Big Ten with forward Gracie Dunaway, and defenders Kassidy Banks and Emily Mason earning a spot on the preseason players to watch list. 

ILLINOIS NOTES

• Illinois picked up its first comeback win of the season on Oct. 6 at Purdue...the Illini had also previously been 0-3-0 on the season when trailing at halftime...it was also the Illini's first win when trailing at the half since Sept. 22, 2022, at Maryland...the Orange and Blue have now won three-straight matches over Purdue, the longest such streak in program history, and have also won two-straight in West Lafayette after going winless in their first 10 road matches against the Boilermakers.
• Lia Howard scored her third goal of the season, and her second match-winner, on Oct. 6 at Purdue in the 83rd minute of the contest...all three of Howard's goals this season have come in the 80th minute or later...the junior is third on the squad with three goals and is also tied for the team lead three assists...her nine points also rank third on the Illini.
• Sarah Foley scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season from the penalty spot on Sept. 29 vs. Maryland...she also scored her second brace of the season on Sept. 19 at Wisconsin, her second-career brace, with her first-career brace coming on Sept. 8 at Mercer...Foley's eight goals are tied for sixth-most in the Big Ten...it is also the first time an Illini has hit the eight-goal mark in a season since 2018...she enters the matchweek with seven goals in her last 11 contests, amassing 14 points during that span...the eight goals is a career-best mark and the junior has also set a career-best mark with 18 points on the season (8 G, 2 A)...Foley's 18 points are the most by an Illini in a single season since 2019 (Kelly Maday, 18)...Foley also leads the squad with four game-winning goals, which is tied for seventh-most in the nation.
• Izzy Lee has recorded three clean sheets and 78 saves through 15 matches this season, tied for 21st-most in the country...her 78.8 save percentage is the second-highest mark among conference keepers that have seen at least 1,350 minutes of action on the season...nationally, it is the eighth-hightest mark among keepers that have also reached that minutes threshold...she leads Big Ten keepers in saves and is second in saves per game (5.20)...that mark is also sixth-highest nationally among keepers that have seen at least 1,350 minutes of action.
• The Illini head into the contest boasting one of the most potent attacks in the country...their 26 goals rank eighth in the Big Ten...Illinois also ranks third in the Big Ten with 31 assists, which ranks tied for 25th nationally...the Illini have 17 players that have recorded an assist on the season...the attack is also averaging 5.5 points per game, which ranks sixth in the conference.
• Claire Murray became the Illini's 11th different goalscorer this season when she found the back of the net just 42 seconds into the match on Sept. 8 at Mercer...the last time Illinois had at least that many goalscorers in a single season was 2022, also 11...with Angie Galo's first-career goal vs. Illinois State on Aug. 25, she became the 10th different Illini to find the back of the net this season...the Illini had nine different goalscorers in the 2023 season
• Demirjian Park welcomed 1,328 fans on Aug. 25 vs. Illinois State, the largest crowd in the history of the facility, which officially opened in 2021...it's also the largest Illinois soccer crowd since 2013. 
• Regan Moody's goal vs. Missouri on Aug. 22 was the ninth goal scored by Illinois in the 2024 season...all of the first-nine goals scored by the Illini in 2024 came from a different player. 
• In the Illini's season opener on Aug. 15 vs. Wright State, 15 different players recorded a point in the contest, the most by any team in the country in the first matchweek. The six goals scored were the most in a single match by the Illini since an 8-0 triumph over Northern Illinois on Aug. 26, 2018.
• Orange and Blue newcomers have made an instant impact on the pitch, with Lauren Seppi (1 G, 1 A), Lindsey DuSatko (1 A), Mia Gildea (1 A), Emma Yee (1 A) and Bella Zanoni (1 A) recording goal contributions in their Illini debuts on Aug. 15 vs. Wright State.
• The Fighting Illini began the season for the third-straight year at Demirjian Park, coming away with wins over Illinois State (1-0, 2022) and Loyola (3-2, 2023) in the last two curtain raisers. Following its win over Wright State on Aug. 15, Illinois has won six-straight season openers, dating back to 2019. 
• Illinois finished the 2023 season with a 6-8-3 record, including a 2-6-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Illini went 4-3-0 on the home pitch at Demirjian Park and 2-5-3 on the road.
• Illinois will face six opponents in 2024 that begin the season ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25; Nebraska (6), UCLA (11), Georgia (14), Wisconsin (19), USC (23) and Iowa (25). The Illini went 2-3-0 against ranked opponents last season, their most ranked wins in a single season since 2018.
• The Illini return 16 letterwinners to the 2024 squad, seven of which started double-digit matches in 2023; Kennedy Berschel (17), Ella Karolak (17), Mya Archibald (16), Ellen Persson (16), Sydney Stephens (15), Sarah Foley (15) and Lia Howard (11). Illinois also returns a large portion of its offensive output, with 67 percent (14/21) of its goals and 68 percent (15/22) of its assists.

UP NEXT

The Illini wrap up the regular season with the Big Ten finale vs. Northwestern. Kickoff from Demirjian Park is set for 1 p.m. CT.