Before this weekend’s games, the Illini soccer team had a reputation that it could not play a physical style of soccer. After defeating Wisconsin 1-0 on Sunday, the Illini proved to the rest of the collegiate soccer world that they can do it.

With the win, the No. 10 Illini moved their record to 2-1 in the conference and 9-2 overall.

Sunday’s win did not come without a minor setback. In Thursday’s game, the Illini lost to rival Illinois State 1-0.

In that game, the Redbirds came out and attacked Illinois’ weakness, playing a tough, physical game.

“We didn’t come in prepared for the intensity ISU came at us with,” said senior goalkeeper Leisha Alcia. “Their physical play gave us a lot of difficulty and we lost our composure.”

Earlier in the season, the Illini gained a reputation for being soft. In their home opener, they lost their focus and gave up a goal late in that game because of Missouri’s physical play.

“That’s the reputation we have,” said Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield. “We would prefer to get the ball and knock it around and play soccer. We want to take their physicality out of the picture.”

After the loss, the Illini knew they would have to adjust because Wisconsin was going to attack the same way Illinois State did.

“Wisconsin came out with that same physical play we saw against Illinois State,” Alcia said. “The difference was that we were more prepared for it today and we rose to the occasion. We know now that we have to be more consistent and expect a battle every time.”

Although the Illini would prefer to play their style of soccer, which focuses more on precision passing and ball control, they are going to have to get used to playing a tough style of soccer too, said Rayfield. Most of the Big Ten teams play physical games.

“We’re going to have to match our opponents’ physicality,” Rayfield said. “In the Big Ten, we can expect to see the same intensity. Today, we got a good test and proved we can play it to ourselves, which was a good thing for us.”

In Sunday’s game, the Illini got a little help from Mother Nature. Their only score came on an unassisted goal by senior Tara Hurless on a corner kick. The kick ended up hitting the top post and going in before Wisconsin’s goalkeeper Lynn Murray could save it.

“We were working on adjusting our runs deeper before the game,” Hurless said. “On that corner kick, I was looking for Sarah Brown at the far post. When I kicked it, the wind ended up taking it and it hit the top post and went in.”

Although the Illini did not intend on the goal happening that way, Rayfield said their offensive attack played a role in the goal.

“What allowed that to happen are all the scoring threats we have,” Rayfield said. “Their goalkeeper was so focused on our threats that she was not able to stop that one. It was a little ugly, but we’ll take it.”

In Sunday’s game, the Illini decided to shake up the lineup a little bit. Illini freshman forward Ella Masar and freshman defender Mary Therese McDonnell were inserted in the starting lineup.

“They are getting the job done,” Rayfield said. “They’ve earned their time in practice and it creates a good atmosphere for the team. Now, in Tuesday’s practice, the girls who lost their starting jobs will be in competition to get them back, keeping everyone competitive.”

The lineups were not all the Illini decided to shake up. For the first time this season, the Illini featured their orange jersey tops at home and wore them with their navy blue shorts and orange socks.

“We prefer our orange to blue,” Rayfield said. “We decided to wear orange-blue-orange for the first time because we were looking for something new and something to give us a little spark. I think we found our new jerseys at home.”