Illinois (8-8-2, 4-6-1) had a major comeback on Sunday against Northwestern (6-10-3, 1-8-2). After a hard-fought season that saw many great performances from Illinois as individuals and as a team, the players were able to send off their seniors with one final victory.
Since the beginning of the season, the team has grown increasingly more comfortable with each other. They have better flow on the field, allowing them to shine in all their respective areas.
The Illini performed great to close out their season. The players made aggressive offensive runs, fought to get the ball back and adapted to the Wildcat’s play style to bounce back in the first half.
This win comes down to talented players who adapted to the game. The Illini pushed through an early 1-0 lead from Northwestern seven minutes into the match. They answered with control and aggressiveness.
Alyssa Weede
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After the game, head coach Janet Rayfield emphasized the team played well as a unit. So many players had solid performances that Rayfield couldn’t attribute the win to just one player.
“I don’t think that we have a performance today on the shoulders of any one person,” Rayfield said. “I think everybody who got on the field did something that helped us to be successful.”
All these great performances from players came together today to grant the Illini a commendable final win in 2024. The player’s talents showed in all areas of the game, but notably in scoring. Throughout the season, even when the Illini played well, finishing was a consistent struggle. In this game, they turned that around.
To open the scoring and equalize the game for the Illini, senior midfielder Alyssa Weede capped her career with her second goal of the season. Weede scored by following a well-hit but just wide shot from senior midfielder Sarah Hiestand. Hiestand’s shot hit the bar and then bounced back across the net. A waiting Weede was there to control the ball and tap it in before Northwestern’s junior goalkeeper, Reiley Fitzpatrick, could recover.
Sarah Foley
Opening the second half, junior forward Sarah Foley scored an impressive 11th goal of the season. In the junior’s past two years on the team, she scored only two goals in both seasons.
Foley now finishes tied No. 4 in the Big Ten for goals. Every player that leads Foley is a senior. Having one more season at Illinois, it will be exciting to see what Foley does in 2025.
Emma Yee
Freshman forward Emma Yee made an impressive scoring debut on Sunday. Foley attempted a give-and-go at the top of the box, but a defender kicked the ball out of her possession. The ball rolled to Yee, who took one hit on the ball while it bounced low to the ground. Her shot arced just over the head of Fitzpatrick, who had mistimed her jump, and then the Illini led 3-1 with 25 minutes remaining.
“It feels really good,” Yee said, reflecting on her first goal scored in her last game with this squad. “I’m just glad we could get the win for the seniors for their last game. It was a special game, so it was really exciting.”
Abby Lynch
The team’s fourth and final goal of the game is not credited to senior forward Abby Lynch but rather a team goal. However, it was Lynch who forced the deflection from Fitzpatrick into her own defender, who then sailed the ball into an undefended net.
Similar to fifth-year midfielder Kennedy Berschel’s goal against USC, the Illini had forced the defense high enough that there was significant space between the defensive line and the keeper. When a through ball splits the defense, an aggressive keeper is meant to step out of the net and clear the ball to prevent a 1-on-1. However, an ill-timed run — or miscommunication in this case — can spell disaster and result in an even easier scoring attempt.
Izzy Lee
Redshirt sophomore Izzy Lee has been a stellar keeper all season. Lee hit her first career-high in saves right before conference play started against Georgia with eight saves. It took her just one game to set a new career-high with nine saves against Mercer three days later. Sunday marks the keeper’s fourth game since Mercer, where she either met or exceeded eight saves. It is fitting that Lee ends the season leading the Big Ten in saves, with the No. 2 keeper trailing by 23 saves.
Rayfield has put together a solid team this season. Her players put their all into every game, whether home or away, higher or lower ranking. Finishing with a win is an exciting endcap to a good season, with lots of young talent sticking around next year.
“It was fun to end on that,” Rayfield said. “Like we talked about in the locker room ahead of time is that we should do this together today and every day. And that’s what we did today.”
