The Illinois soccer team swarmed goalkeeper Steph Panozzo following her diving save against Ohio State’s fourth penalty kick attempt. After 110 minutes and two overtimes Wednesday, the No. 18 Illini (14-4-2, 8-2-1 Big Ten) sealed their ninth consecutive win 2-1 to advance to Friday’s second round of the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan State.

Marissa Mykines, Niki Read, Kassidy Brown and Vanessa DiBernardo put away the first four penalty kicks for Illinois, while Panozzo blocked attempts by Ohio State’s Liz Sullivan and Kristen Niederhaus to secure the win. Panozzo has earned eight shutouts this season and was awarded two conference awards for her defensive play. Excitement rushed through the Illini as the fourth penalty kick attempt was blocked.

“Everyone went crazy,” Ewing said. “I’m pretty sure (Panozzo) jumped a mile into the air; it was a great save. It is never easy being a goalkeeper in PK’s, and she stepped up to the plate and brought it home for us.”

Illinois continued its trend of starting the game slow. A false start was called on the Orange and Blue kickoff to start the game, which set the tone for most of the first half. In the 16th minute, Ohio State forward Paige Maxwell took the 1-0 lead for the Buckeyes with her third goal of the season. Panozzo said Illinois’ confidence was not shaken.

“The one thing about this team this year is that when we’ve gone down, we have the confidence to know that we are going to be able to score and come back,” Panozzo said. “I don’t think it ever crossed anyone’s mind that we were not going to win this game.”

The Buckeyes’ (10-8-3 overall, 5-5-1) physicality was overpowering throughout the game, which Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield said was a main factor in the Illini’s slow start. Ohio State earned 22 fouls and one yellow card in the game. In the first half, Ohio State nearly doubled the amount of fouls Illinois was given. The outcome of physical play turned against the Buckeyes, however, setting up a free kick for the Illini right outside the Buckeyes’ 18-yard box. DiBernardo scored off the kick, tying the score 1-1 in the 43rd minute for her 16th of the season.

“It’s a better game for us when there is a rhythm to the game or there’s a flow and with that many fouls, I think there were over 40 fouls, that is a foul every minute and you can’t even get into a rhythm,” Rayfield said.

The score remained tied after the second half, pushing the game into overtime and eventually a second overtime with the score remaining 1-1.

After 110 minutes of play, 41 fouls were recorded between both teams. Ohio State backed up its reputation of having a solid defensive line, only allowing Illinois eight shots in each half. Senior Julie Ewing said Illinois’ offense did a better job creating chances toward the end of the game.

“For the first 20 minutes it was pretty crazy, there was a lot of energy and we weren’t exactly playing our game,” Ewing said. “But then we finally got it on the floor and tried to exploit their backs, combine through them and play the way that we want to play.”

Before returning onto the field for penalty kicks, Rayfield gave her team some encouraging words.