After two weekends on the road, the Fighting Illini return to the friendly confines of the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium. This weekend’s tests will be tough, however, as the Illini face two undefeated opponents.

On Friday, the Illini (4-3) match up against Colorado College (6-0-1), ranked 23rd in the latest Soccer America polls, followed by the Washington Huskies (6-0-0) on Sunday. Despite the Big Ten season being right around the corner and disappointing performances in Florida last weekend, the Illini are happy to face high-quality competition this weekend

“The more opponents we play that give us a big challenge, the better we will get especially going into the Big Ten next week,” sophomore defender Danielle Kot said. “It’s nice to get two teams with great records under our belts.”

A couple of wins this weekend for the Illini would be huge in terms of momentum heading into the Big Ten season and as a resume builder for the NCAA tournament.

Head coach Janet Rayfield said she wanted to schedule challenging opponents so her team would be prepared to face tough opponents in the Big Ten. In the Tigers and Huskies, she gets just that. What she does not get, however, are foes that she is familiar with.

“We know a little bit about them,” Rayfield said. “Colorado College plays a similar system to us. It’s really a matter of who does what they do better.”

Rayfield expects both opponents to be well-organized defensively and said the biggest challenge would be breaking down the defenses. She also stressed the significance of improving the offense and defense in each box.

“We’ve played some really good soccer (at midfield), we’ve moved the ball, we’re good in the air in terms of winning 50-50 balls,” Rayfield said. “We just have to be more focused in our defensive box and more precise in our attacking box.”

As basic as it sounds, putting the ball in the back of the net will be the biggest key for the Illini this weekend. Illinois has been shut out in three straight losses to Tennessee, Florida and Central Florida. They have had many quality scoring opportunities, recording 34 shots during their three-game losing streak, but they just have not finished.

“We’re getting chances,” sophomore midfielder Cory Steigerwald said.

“It’s not a matter of us trying to create chances, it’s just a matter of the ball bouncing right in the attacking 18. I feel like if one goal comes, the rest will come. It’s like a flood that needs to be broken.”

If that flood is to break the levee, home-field advantage might be the culprit.

“It’s so nice to be home,” Steigerwald said with a huge smile. “We are more comfortable here.”

Rayfield agreed, but for a slightly different reason.

“It’s great to play in front of your home fans, but the biggest advantage right now is the time we’ve had this week to train, in terms of polishing, fixing and trying to work on things,” Rayfield said.

For now, the Illini are focused on competing the way they know they can.

“We’re not really as concerned about them as we are on how we should play and hold ourselves to the standard that we do,” Steigerwald said.