On Wildcast turf, the Illini suffered heartbreak after conceding a goal in the 89th minute. 

“I’ll be honest I’m little bit lost for words in sense that we had some great moments tonight and I’m frustrated for our team and with our team in that last minute,” head coach Janet Rayfield said.

Illinois were playing much better on the field than seen in the last couple of games. With the given space from Northwestern, Illinois were able to pass around easily and got some momentum going. 

However the Wildcats almost got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute without even taking a shot. Eileen Murphy passed it back to Naomi Jackson, but the ball rolled a little too fast and just skipped past her foot nearly into the net. 

In the 21st minute Kendra Pasquale used some quick feet in the box to get a shot off her strong foot, but it just missed and smacked off the crossbar to deny the lead. 

Back and forth attacks from both teams put the goalkeepers to the test, but Jackson and Mackenzie Wood easily saved what came at them. 

Second half came around, and Northwestern used the momentum from their last five minutes in the first half to drive their game. A lot of pressure and much more shots came from the Wildcat attack, but as always Jackson’s athleticism shined in the net. 

Illinois finally got back into attacking in Northwestern’s defensive third, however, their shots failed to get on target and ended up going wide of the goal. 

In the 77th minute, the Wildcat’s had a good look on goal and, just like Pasquale’s, it rattled off the net keeping the game scoreless. 

Northwestern had eight corners leading up to the 89th minute and on the last corner it made it count. 

Served in from Josie Aulicino, Regan Steigleder rose above everyone and sent a powerful header at goal. Pasquale tried to make a goal line save, but her block deflected the ball into the net and quickly bounced out. 

“We just didn’t get the job done in the last minute and a half of the game and that’s certainly a disappoint for us,” Rayfield said.

Jackson tried to continue play by picking up the ball, but the referee whistled to call the goal for the Wildcats. 

Northwestern pulled a reverse uno and gave Illinois the loss after suffering the same fate back in April.

“I told them that we needed to let this one sink in,” Rayfield said when talking about her post-game talk with the team. “I didn’t say a lot because I think at this point right now the frustration and I think disappointment, there’s no words at this moment that are gonna undo that disappointment. So when that sun rises tomorrow then we focus on forward and we focus at the task at hand in terms of Maryland coming to Champaign.”

Illinois move to 0-4 in Big Ten play and will continue their season on Sunday at home against Maryland. 

@AngelleCortes

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