Illinois (7-7-2, 3-5-1) won its most recent match against the Indiana Hoosiers on Thursday. Now, on Sunday, the team will face its last road opponent of 2024, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3-3, 5-2-2).  

Illinois trails Rutgers with a 1-4-1 record all-time. The Illini hosted the last meeting between these two teams in 2021, where they fell 3-0 to the Scarlet Knights. Before this, Illinois had lost the previous two matchups as well. In 2018, they fell 0-1 , and in 2017, they lost 1-2. Both of those games went into overtime, meaning Illinois held out during typical match play but lost in the long run. 

While regular season matches do not have overtime, the Illini need to cement themselves early in competition like they did against the Hoosiers. 

This will be a tough match for the Illini. This season, the Scarlet Knights have a 6-1-1 home record. Combined with the Illini’s 3-2-1 away record, they will have to put their all into this game to come away with a win. 

However, there are some factors that may push Illinois into hopeful-win territory. First, junior forward Sarah Foley scored her ninth goal of the season. This ties her for No. 4 in the Big Ten conference in goal scoring. 

Another Illini who leads the scoreboards in competition is redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Izzy Lee. Lee currently ranks No. 1 in saves and No. 5 in goals-against average among Big Ten goalies. Ranking so highly in two important metrics is notable, considering the Illini do not have a particularly impressive record this season. But they do know that their goalie is going to give them a fighting chance.

Rutgers lost most recently to the Purdue Boilermakers 2-0. Illinois bested Purdue just three games ago. Based on this track record, Illinois knows they will have opportunities in this game.

However, Illinois still has improvements to make if they want to win a game in which they are the underdogs. It is most important that Illinois scores early on in the game. Doing so will put the team on the front foot and demonstrate its aggressiveness in the first half.

In Rutgers’ win against Nebraska, the Cornhuskers scored both of their goals in the first half. Rutgers was much stronger in the second half to come back and win, but they put stress on themselves late. If Illinois can keep their energy up throughout the match, which they struggled to do on Thursday against Indiana, they can force some mistakes.

Illinois will need to continue to watch sideline runs, as well as consolidate their formations. When the Illini keep both of these in mind, they have had great success making aggressive runs. The runs have only gotten better as the season progressed. Foley, junior midfielder/forward Lia Howard and fifth-year midfielder Kennedy Berschel all have netted goals after the team made these improvements. 

Illinois is set to take on Rutgers at 1 p.m. on Sunday in New Jersey at Yurcak Field. The game will also be streamed on B1G+. 

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