A rainy afternoon at Demirjian Park didn’t phase the Illini or its fans as they stuck through the 90 minutes to see the win against the Terrapins. 

“It was a really great gritty win for us,” Ashleigh Lefevre said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty but we kept on fighting, made some great opportunities, and at the end of the day you just have to put two in the back of the net to get ahead.”

Maryland started off early in the eighth minute getting the first goal of the game. After intercepting the ball during the run of play, they took the space onto goal.

The ball ended up in the feet of an open Hope Lewandowski and she smashed into the net just short of the six yard box. 

Further into the first half, Illinois built a lot of offensive momentum to get the equalizer. 

Unfortunately shots from Kendra Pasquale, Makena Silber and Maeve Jones couldn’t get past the Maryland goalkeeper. 

In the second half, Maryland started off in the 48th minute and nearly got a goal to extend the lead. Catherine DeRosa received the ball at the top of the box and fired the shot, but Julia Cili made a strong block to deny a goal. 

From then on, the second half was all Illinois. The attack was coming from all sides, but was primarily coming down the left side which was powered by Ashley Cathro and saw Maryland struggle to contain. 

Cathro, who played a near perfect 90 minutes, just couldn’t be stopped and with the added drive of Pasquale and Ashleigh Lefevre the left side was unstoppable.

The Canadian’s full force down the left flank finally paid off in the 64th minute. A cross sent in deep into the box flew past the diving Maryland keeper. Jones outstretched her leg to get a touch on the ball and found the back of the net for the equalizer. 

“I told Ashley Cathro that I thought that was one of the best games ever (for her) and (the) Canadian national team needs to watch that game and make sure she gets in the next time they have a camp,” head coach Janet Rayfield said. 

Illinois continued to power through the rain to get the game winner in the last 25 minutes. 

Even more shots from Hope Breslin, Pasquale and Silber put Illinois in a good spot to get a goal, but the Maryland keeper was on top of her game. 

In the 75th minute, the Illini finally got the goal they’ve been going for, but it took three chances to get it into the net. 

A long shot from Pasquale was pushed out, Silber ran to get the rebound and got saved onto the crossbar, Pasuqale got the rebound again and was saved off the line and finally Lefevre grabbed the rebound to knock it into the net. 

“I’m going to do everything I can to get this in the net so I just threw my body in the line,” Levefre said when talking about her goal. 

Illinois denied Maryland of its first Big Ten win since 2019 getting themselves the first Big Ten win of the season. The win also marked the 100th win for Rayfield. 

“You just think about all the players that were involved in all of those wins and what’s it like to be somewhere long enough to have had that many players, to have that many victories, and to have played that many games,” Rayfield said when reflecting on her 100th Big Ten win. “This is something I love to do and to be able to do it for that long at a wonderful institution and to work with an amazing athletic department, blessed is what I feel the most.” 

@AngelleCortes

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