Another two-game week for Illinois soccer (4-4-2, 0-2-1) kicks off Thursday with an away game at Hibner Stadium against the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-6-0, 0-3-0). With both squads struggling to trump their Big Ten opponents this season, a win tomorrow is significant for either side. 

Nebraska is on a four-game losing streak since their last 2-1 win against Oregon State. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, the Huskers have not managed a draw. Four of their losses were shutouts; in three of those, Nebraska’s opponents scored at least twice. Despite this, all the Huskers’ wins have been multi-goal, most notably against Creighton, 5-2. 

While Nebraska is unranked in the Big Ten, they have some talent. A Husker to watch out for is senior midfielder/forward Sarah Weber. Weber was named Offensive Big Ten Player of the Week in August after scoring her first career hat trick in a win over Colorado State. She is the first Husker since October 2023 to receive this honor. 

Weber recorded her second career hat trick in her team’s victory against Creighton. Now, she has six goals on the season. Weber is ranked No. 6 nationally for shots per game, shooting 5.00 on average. 

Nebraska will heavily rely on senior midfielder/forward Florence Belzile, senior defender Jordan Zade and junior defender Lauryn Anglim to lead the team in assists. Zade has recorded the most assists this season with four, and Anglim is close behind. Belzile also has three assists this season and 25 total career assists. This makes her ninth in Nebraska’s history for career assists. 

In 2023, Nebraska closed its season with a win over Illinois, 4-2. This pushed the Illini out of postseason contention. The Huskers topped the Illini in their last three matchups. However, Illinois still leads the series 8-6-0. 

The Illini will need to prioritize marking on defense and finishing on offense. When facing teams with single high-scoring players like Weber, effectively man-marking from the defense is essential to eliminating dangerous scoring opportunities. Winning 50-50 balls and having impactful off-ball movement will also play a part in Illinois coming away with their first conference win. 

For Illinois’ offense, junior midfielder/forward Lia Howard has been vital to the team’s successful chances up top. Howard has played a big part in Illinois’ playmaking and shooting.

In their loss to Iowa on Sunday, Howard had the sole goal. This prevented a shutout with a buried penalty in the 87th minute. If she continues to use her bursting speed and keen ability to find players like freshman midfielder/forward Lauren Seppi and junior forward Sarah Foley, the Illini might break their winless streak.

Nebraska hosts Illinois on Thursday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The game will be featured on the B1G+ network. 

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