Illinois soccer looks to return to form against Iowa
Forward Makena Silber handles the ball during the game against Wisconsin Oct. 8. The Illini look to perform well in their game against Iowa on Sunday.
October 17, 2021
After a nightmare game against Minnesota, Illinois is looking to regroup on Sunday against Iowa.
Last time these two teams met was in the first round of the Big Ten tournament back in April.
On Champaign grass, Iowa were victorious as they scored the golden goal in overtime. It was just the start of their Cinderella run in the tournament where they were the eventual champions.
Iowa isn’t having the same run this season, but they are still very strong in a competitive league. The Hawkeyes are 9-5-1 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
Their most recent win comes from a 4-3 victory against Nebraska. Within the first half, the Hawkeyes were down by three goals but got one back going into halftime.
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After the break, Iowa did the impossible and made a huge comeback to win 4-3 within 90 minutes to take three points.
Illinois on the other hand have had a rocky start to conference play. Four straight losses in a row found them in a rut, but they managed a win against Maryland and a tie against Wisconsin. Minnesota, however, stopped all momentum Illinois had.
Four goals within 45 minutes hurt them a lot and even forced a goalkeeper change going into the second half. But it just wasn’t enough as the Illini struggled to get a consolation goal and conceded another.
Against Iowa, Illinois will need to have a solid backline in order to prevent a heavy hitting attack from the get-go.
Attacking wise, finishing and putting shots away from the goalkeeper will be needed. The shots are there, but the correct placement is what’s lacking.
Regardless, the heavy loss should kick start Illinois back into the performance they showed against Maryland and Wisconsin.
The game will kick off at 1 p.m. central time and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
@AngelleCortes
