When senior forward Tara Hurless and junior defenders Natasha and Christen Karniski graduate, the Illini soccer team will look to freshman forward Ella Masar and freshman defender Mary Therese McDonnell to keep their tradition alive.

Both Masar and McDonnell have stepped up their games this season, earning their first collegiate starts against Wisconsin at home on Sept. 26. They have started every game since then.

Masar has recorded three goals and two assists this fall. She was inserted into the starting lineup to give the Illini an offensive spark.

McDonnell has given the Illini more flexibility at the forward position because of the impact that she has made at defender. It allows the team to move Natasha Karniski to forward from defender to help the scoring attack.

Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield believes McDonnell will pick up where the Karniski sisters left off, keeping the Illini competitive in the Big Ten for years to come.

“As Kristen and Natasha graduate, (Mary Therese) will continue the tradition of having speedy outside backs,” Rayfield said. “She has become one of the top defenders in the conference in a short time. She is very good on the ball and has good pace with the ball.”

Rayfield thinks Masar has the potential to fill the void Hurless, the team’s leading scorer, will leave when she graduates after this season.

“Ella is a great scorer,” Rayfield said. “She will continue the legacy that Tara leaves of being a great goal scorer.”

Rayfield said Masar and McDonnell have benefited from having upperclassmen around them to learn what it takes to be successful at the collegiate level.

“The great thing about our program is that freshmen like Ella and Mary Therese get to play around players like Tara Hurless and (junior defender) Kelly Campbell and (sophomore defender) Sarah Brown,” Rayfield said. “If they didn’t have players to show them the level at which to compete, they would not have an example to shoot for. Our upperclassmen do a great job of showing our young players what it takes.”

With Masar and McDonnell’s success this season, Rayfield said the team has been able to benefit from the competition the freshmen have created at their positions.

“The best thing about (Masar and McDonnell) is the challenge they provide our team,” Rayfield said. “The competition they create makes them better and makes us better, as a team. Each week our players have to compete hard in practice to earn their spot.”

Masar and McDonnell have gone into this season with the same philosophy – work hard.

“Both of those two have earned their time on the field through practice,” Rayfield said on Sept. 26 after the Wisconsin game. “They have showed day in and day out that they can get the job done. They both have a very good work ethic.”

In their careers at Illinois, they would both like to be part of a Big Ten champion.

“As a team, I would love to see us win the Big Ten,” McDonnell said. “That would be a great accomplishment.”

Both understand what it will take to reach that goal.

“It will take a lot of hard work,” Masar said. “You can’t worry about the big things either; it is the small things that you have to be working every day at, because if you work on the small things the big things will take care of themselves.”

After this fall, one thing is for certain: both freshmen are glad to be Illini.

“(I’m) definitely happy with my choice,” McDonnell said. “The season as a whole has been a lot of fun so far. The team is great.”