The sun and heat were present once again in Champaign, but this time at Demirjian Park. Illinois and Butler fought a tough match with the Bulldogs going home with a 3-1 win. 

“It was disappointing,” said head coach Janet Rayfield. “Certainly a disappointing result and credit to Butler, they came in and had the energy that you need to go on the road and we didn’t  just not match that energy you know we have to come out with an energy of our own. I thought we got beat to balls today.”  

Illinois was looking to bounce back against North Carolina and bring back momentum it had in its first two games, but Butler from the first to final whistle weren’t giving it to them. 

“We talk about the people on the field starting the game and being tone-setters, and we were chasing the tone of the game from the get-go and I think that’s disappointing,” Rayfield said.  

An early chance in the 10th minute saw Butler with a free kick, but Julia Cili put it out for a corner. The corner floated and Cili was on the end of it, but couldn’t hold it and Butler nearly scored early. 

The Bulldogs were making the Illini chase for the ball and putting high pressure in the midfield to pounce on the mistake. Illinois struggled to find its footing and control the momentum of play failing to put the ball to feet. 

Struggling to connect on the field is what Butler saw and took advantage of as no matter who had the ball and where it was, the Bulldogs were on the Illini’s tail to gain back possession. 

After the first half water break, Illinois made the usual substitution of bringing in freshmen Maeve Jones and Abby Lynch, and they brought energy and a different style up top. 

In the 32nd minute, Lynch received a pass and did a sneaky touch to get past her defender to get an opening. On her left foot, she tried to get a pass into the box to Kendra Pasuqale, but she slipped and the ball didn’t go through. 

A corner in the 40th minute to Butler saw them get the opening goal. The ball was fed into the box and Gabby Smith was in the right place as she easily headed it in to give them the lead. 

One minute before the half Pasquale got the best chance on goal for Illinois so far. A quick move past a defender sent her onto goal and she took a low shot, but was comfortably saved by Emma Martin. 

In the second half, Butler still wasn’t letting their guard down, and Illinois struggled to get into the attacking third comfortably. 

The 56th minute an early long ball was sent to Abby Isger that gave a lot of running space. Cili ran off her line toward the ball, but took a slight slip as the ball was passed across goal. Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal missed the touch to stop the ball and Katie Soderstrom was on the end of it to make it 2-0. 

Eight minutes later Illinois responded with a goal of their own. Angie Galo whipped a knuckleball toward goal that was saved by Martin, but Pasquale and Maggie Hillman were there for the rebound, giving it to Pasquale.

Illinois nearly got a second goal in the 70th minute as Eileen Murphy sent a lofted through ball to Zoey Kollhoff. She got a good foot on the ball, but Martin’s left hand denied them the goal to tie it all up. 

Butler wasn’t done just yet and pushed the deficit back to two goals in the 75th minute. Isger crossed it low to a wide open Alli Leonard, and she put it in the roof of the net to seal the game. 

“It was a real mental game today,” Versoza-Dolezal said. “I think it was a learning experience, and we’re definitely going to be looking on this one as we look into future games, especially heading into the Big Ten. We need to win those mental battles, and I think now we know what we need to do to win those.”

Up next is other Big East opponent Xavier on Thursday, and Illinois has a lot of work to do.  

@AngelleCortes

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