Illinois Soccer Continues Season with Pair of Home Matches

WEEK 2: Illinois (0-0-1) vs. Cincinnati (1-0-0) // UIC (0-1-1)
Match 2: Cincinnati	Thursday, Aug. 20 // 6 p.m. CT // Demirjian Park // Champaign, Ill.
Match 3: UIC	Sunday, Aug. 23 // 5 p.m. CT // Demirjian Park // Champaign, Ill.
Watch	Cincinnati // UIC
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Notes	Illinois // Cincinnati // UIC
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois soccer team is set for its second week of competition with a pair of home matches in Demirjian Park. They welcome Cincinnati on Thursday (Aug. 20) at 6 p.m. and UIC on Sunday (Aug. 23) at 5 p.m. CT, both matches can be viewed on B1G+.

The Illini began their season last week at home with No. 19 Georgia making the trip to Champaign. Izzy Lee made four saves to keep her first clean sheet of the season and Alyssa White led the offense with two shots on goal as the Illini battled to a scoreless draw against the Bulldogs. Lee was then named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week for this performance becoming the first Illini keeper to earn this distinction since Sami Sample (March 16, 2021).

SCOUTING CINCINNATI

This will be the third overall meeting between the Bearcats and Illini with the Illini holding a 2-0-0 edge in the series. They won the first meeting 3-0 on Sept. 8, 2002, and the most recent meeting by the same score on Sept. 11, 2010, in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati began their season at home on Aug. 12 with a 3-0 win over Eastern Kentucky to bring a 1-0-0 record into Champaign. The Bearcats finished last season with a 5-8-6 overall record with a 1-6-3 tally in road contests.

SCOUTING UIC

This will be the second meeting between UIC and Illinois after Illinois won the series opener last season, 1-0, on Aug. 14, 2025, in Chicago which was also head coach Katie Hultin's first win as head coach of the Illini.

The Flames currently own a 0-1-1 record as they started their season on Aug. 12 with a 2-1 loss to Ohio on the road and they had a scoreless tie with Eastern Illinois in Chicago on Aug. 16. UIC will have a match at home against Eastern Washington on Thursday, Aug. 20, before making the trip to Champaign on Sunday.

ILLINI NOTES

Illinois will face five opponents this season that begin the season ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll: No. 7 Michigan State, No. 9 UCLA, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 19 Georgia and No. 22 Wisconsin.
Izzy Lee made four saves against Georgia to keep her first clean sheet of the season.
The Illini return 16 letterwinners from the 2025 squad and welcome in 13 newcomers.
Six new faces made their Illini debuts in the home opener against Georgia: Ava Arengo, Gabriella Garcia-Terrell, Kylie Marschall, Sophia McMillan, Hedda Ornberg and Alyssa White.
Illinois begins the season ranked No. 9 in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, up from No. 15 to start last season.

Schedule