Rankings vis Top Drawer Soccer
EUGENE, Ore. – No. 18 Illinois soccer (8-0-1, 1-0-1) defeated Oregon (2-6-1, 0-2-0) , 1-0, on Thursday night at Papé Field. Head coach Katie Hultin earns her first Big Ten win at the helm and has matched the previous year's win total with her eighth victory of the season, extending the program's best start.
Izzy Lee extended her national lead with her seventh clean sheet of the season in her seven save performance tonight. She started the game off dialed in when she redirected a shot from Oregon four minutes into the contest. It was one of their best looks of the night as it came from roughly seven feet away.
Her seven shutouts this season are already the seventh most by an Illini keeper in a single season chasing the program record of 12 set by Leisha Alcia in 2003.
Sarah Foley scored the game winner tonight in the 15th minute off a penalty kick. The Ducks committed a foul inside the box which gave Foley the chance from the spot, and she wasted no time burying her sixth goal and third game winner of the season. In addition, it's also the first goal for the Illini in Big Ten play for the 2025 season.
The Ducks and Illini spent most of the second half in the neutral third before Emma Yee found Ashley Stellon in the 59th minute for the best chance of the half on a shot from the top of the box that curled just wide left.
Illinois was outshot 20-11, had fewer shots on goal (7-5) and was nearly tripled up on corner kicks (11-4) in comparison to Oregon, but battled through to earn its first conference win of the Hultin era.
The Orange and Blue soccer club stays on the west coach for their matchup against Washington on Sunday (Sept. 21) in Seattle. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
