Demirjian Park’s opening week is not quite done yet, as Illinois (2-1-0) is set to take on Butler (1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon. 

“We’re better Sunday than we were today,” said head coach Janet Rayfield Thursday night when talking about what she hopes for Sunday. “We’re a little bit better marking in the box, that we’re a little bit faster in our speed of play in the midfield. Hopefully the amount of pressure that we were under tonight we can handle that better, right, because we experienced it now and look at some tape and can do some things.

“My hope is that we come out of this more confident in the things that we can do and we get better and we come out even better on Sunday.”

Illinois is coming off a loss to No. 2 North Carolina, a game in which the Illini lost 5-1. Hope Breslin opened the scoring, but Illinois couldn’t maintain the momentum, leading North Carolina to dominate the match. 

As for Butler, it saw the different side of the scoreline against in-state and Big Ten rival Northwestern, as they got a 3-1 win. 

Midfielder Katie Soderstrom scored two goals, while forward Abigail Isger finished off the scoreline with one goal. 

The Illini will be the third Big Ten opponent the Bulldogs will be going head to head with as they have already faced the Wildcats and Wolverines, where they lost 5-0. 

In the spring season Butler posted an impressive 10-2 record and never lost a home game, but their electric season ended in devastation after losing to Georgetown in the Big East Tournament final 2-1 in overtime. 

Butler was tabbed to finish second in the Big East preseason poll with goalkeeper Stephanie Rodriguez, forward Anastasia Savich and Soderstrom earning All-Team awards.

Rodriguez, only conceding nine goals last season plus was named Big East co-Goalkeeper of the Year and preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, has found herself out of the starting lineup. 

After her performance against Michigan, letting four goals in led to freshman Emma Martin getting her chance in the net. 

So far Martin has 110 minutes under her belt with two goals against in two games and could potentially start her second game of the season. 

The loss against the Tar Heels took a hit on the Illini, but the momentum from the previous two games were still there. Breslin was still a menace in the attacking third and found the opening after catching the goalkeeper off her line and pounced on the opportunity. 

Momentum and hunger was present in Illinois, but Kendra Pasquale, the fastest on the team, getting matched on speed from the defenders puts into perspective how fast, physical and dominant North Carolina was. 

Illinois’ one game at a time mentality is now shifting their attention to the game against Butler on Sunday. 

“Focus is UNC, finished with that, Butler is definitely the next thing on our eyes,” Breslin said. “I think we just learn from our mistakes and we move forward.

The match will be at 1 p.m. at Demirjian Park and will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network Plus. Before kickoff seniors will be honored for work and dedication to the program.
 

@AngelleCortes

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