BOWLING GREEN, OHIO. – Illinois soccer continued to roll on the road Thursday night in Ohio, as the Illini got back in the win column with a 5-1 victory over Bowling Green.
The Illini (3-3-0) fired a season-high 10 shots on goal, while five different Illini tallied goals as they moved past the Falcons. Bowling Green (1-4-1) managed just four shots on target against the Illini defense, while freshman Naomi Jackson, who made her debut in the Orange and Blue, saved three Falcon chances while surrendering one goal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois grabbed the lead in the 15th minute courtesy of freshman Maeve Jones. Fellow freshman Sydney Stephens drove the ball from the right edge of the box through a hard press, and the ball skipped by a Falcon defender to Jones who took a touch and fired the shot to the back of the net.
Ten minutes later, Stephens broke free in the midfield and sent a long pass from midfield that found Makena Silber in full stride. The senior then fought past a Falcon defender and slipped the ball by the goalkeeper for the 18th goal of her career, which moves her into Illinois' top-10 in career goals scored.
With less than six minutes to go in the half, Kendra Pasquale drove into the penalty box and fired a flurry of shots towards the goal but was turned away by a gritty shot blocking Falcon defense. After the Falcon keeper saved the final Pasquale attempt, Stephens grabbed the rebound and passed it to Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal just outside the top of the box. Verzosa-Dolezal then dribbled past a defender to line up a shot to the bottom right of the goal that found netting and gave the sophomore her first collegiate goal. The Illini defense limited the Falcons for the remainder of the half the Illini went into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.
The Falcons offense came out firing in the second half, but Jackson was up to the challenge in net for the Illini. The freshman saved two shot attempts and the Illini backline snubbed out four other scoring chances for the Falcons. Bowling Green eventually broke through with a goal of their own in the 75th minute after Lacee Bethea snagged the ball from Illinois' Summer Garrison and fired it past a diving Jackson to cut the Illini lead to 3-1.
Illinois responded to the Bowling Green tally with a score of their own. Pasquale won a ball in the midfield and served a ball to the left corner of Illinois' attacking third to Abby Lynch. The freshman Lynch drove endline and centered the ball to redshirt senior Maggie Hillman on a well-timed run ending with a right footed volley past the diving Falcon keeper - her second goal of the season – to put the Illini up, 4-1.
Lynch was driving to goal again in the 86th minute and got past the Falcon defender before being fouled in the box, leading to Illinois' first penalty kick attempt of the season. The freshman Lynch stepped up to take the kick, and buried the shot high to her left to seal the 5-1 road victory for Illinois.
QUOTING COACH RAYFIELD
"I thought we executed our game plan really well and competed together for 90 minutes. When you do that, good things happen. This team continues to evolve and grow and tonight was a great step in the right direction."
ILLINOIS NOTES
- Freshman Maeve Jones started her first career game at Bowling Green, scoring her second goal this season while play on a career-high 75 minutes
- Freshman Sydney Stephens recorded three assists in the first half at Bowling Green. This ties the Illinois record for most assists in a half, a feat last achieved by Tara Hurless vs. Penn State on Nov. 7, 2002.
- Freshman Sydney Stephens' three assists also ties the Illinois single-game record. She is the first Illini to record three assists in a game since Peyton Willie vs. Northern Illinois on Aug. 26, 2018.
- Redshirt junior Kendra Pasquale recorded two assists at Bowling Green, the first multi-assist game of her career.
- Illinois moves to 3-0 on the road this season, outscoring opponents 14-2 away from Demirjian Park.
- Senior Makena Silber scored her 18th-career goal at Bowling Green. This moves her into a tie for 10th all-time with Chichi Nweke and Lindsay Johnson for career goals scored.
- Senior Makena Silber played a season-high 80 minutes at Bowling Green.
- Freshman Sydney Stephens fired a career-high four shots at Bowling Green.
- Freshman Naomi Jackson made her Illini debut at Bowling Green, playing 89 minutes in goal and recording three saves.
- Sophomore Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal scored her first collegiate goal at Bowling Green.
- Freshman Abby Lynch scored her second goal of the season at Bowling Green.
- UI recorded a season-high 10 shots on goal at Bowling Green, while also recording a season-high five assists.
UP NEXT
UI continues its Ohio road trip on Sunday, Sept. 12, taking on Toledo at 12 p.m. CT. The match is set to stream live on ESPN+.
"behind" - Google News
September 10, 2021 at 09:40AM
https://ift.tt/3twGq1G
Illini Down Bowling Green Behind Balanced Offense - Fighting Illini
"behind" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YqUhZP
https://ift.tt/2yko4c8
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Illini Down Bowling Green Behind Balanced Offense - Fighting Illini"
Post a Comment