There’s no place like home.

After two emotionally and physically draining matches at Rutgers and Maryland over the weekend, the Illinois soccer team may have never looked forward to a home stand more.

The Illini (9-6-1, 4-5-1) returned home on Sunday with a well-earned road point after tying 1-1 with Maryland. The draw was Illinois’ lone point in five matches. The Illini have been banged up all season, and even with some players returning from extended absences, the list of injuries is not becoming any shorter.

“We’ve played some really physical games,” head coach Janet Rayfield said. “People have taken some pretty tough fouls and hard falls, so off of a two-game weekend with the travel in between I wouldn’t say anybody who practiced today was 100 percent at this point in the season.”

Just this past weekend, three different Illini weren’t able to play their normal minutes.

Junior defender Amy Feher has missed the last three games after being hit in the face in the match against Northwestern. She just returned to practice this week with a mask to guard her injured nose, and her availability this weekend is questionable.

Junior midfielder Nicole Breece took a ball to the face over the weekend and wasn’t practicing on Tuesday. She has a history of concussions, so the training staff wanted to be cautious with her even though she’s been symptom-free and should be able to play this weekend.

After playing the full 90 minutes in almost every match so far this season, even versatile freshman Abby Elinsky was shaken up after a hard hit on Sunday. She was only able to play 53 minutes in the double overtime thriller in Maryland, but has been practicing this week.

With just three matches left in the season, it isn’t an ideal time for Illinois to have its depth tested. However, there is a silver lining, and her name is Kara Marbury.

The freshman forward returned to action this past weekend after missing the previous eight matches and brought stability up front next to senior striker Jannelle Flaws.

“It was really nice having Kara back up top,” Flaws said. “Everyone that’s been playing up top has done a good job, she just really understands the game with her ability to hold the ball up top. She just doesn’t quit, she could be absolutely exhausted and you would have no idea. It’s really fun to play with a player like her.”

Marbury has had a cast on her foot since before conference play began, so she is still getting used to the intensity of Big Ten soccer.

“I was super nervous the night before, it was a rough sleep,” Marbury said. “I think your first conference game is always a big deal, so for me that was pretty exciting to be starting after being out for a while.”

Marbury admitted her fitness isn’t where she would like it be yet, but with another week of practice she is looking to get her shooting touch and stamina back for the remaining schedule.

Even though the nagging injuries remain, Rayfield knows that staying healthy is just part of the game and she is confident that her team is on the right track to put it all together in the season’s final stretch.

“We’ve got to put the pieces of the puzzle together, and now we’ve got some of those pieces healthy,” Rayfield said. “I think we’re ready to peak going into these last three home games and I’m excited about the kind of soccer that this team knows it can play.”

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @joeyfigueroa3.