It’s been a long journey on the road for Illinois, and head coach Janet Rayfield and her squad are ready to return to Champaign to compete in front of the Illini faithful once again. The team has spent the last five games on the road and came out with a 2-2-1 record.
Although the results haven’t been there recently, with the last two games ending in losses for Illinois, the squad started the season off strong. The Illini were undefeated in their opening four matches, earning their best start since 2015.
“Certainly this team is excited to be back home,” Rayfield said. “There’s a feeling of success around the team, and they’re excited to bring that back to the fans in Illinois and to showcase who they are and where they are. We’re certainly excited about that.”
It’s been a season of tight results so far as aside from the draw against Dayton, Illinois has won or lost all of its games by one goal. It will be an interesting test on Sunday as the squad prepares to take the pitch against a Pepperdine Waves team that has won twice and drawn on five occasions. Most recently, Pepperdine earned a 2-2 tie against LSU in its most recent fixture.
Demirjian Park will be hosting the third-ever meeting between the Illini and the Waves on Sunday. It will also be the first time the two sides meet in Champaign. Historically, the series is split 1-1-0, allowing both teams the chance to get ahead in the tie. It was Illinois who came out victorious in the most recent clash, a 3-2 triumph back in 2019 over a ranked Pepperdine squad.
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In addition to wanting to get back in the win column, the Illini program will be celebrating Senior Day. Seniors Julia Cili, Makala Woods, Mackenzie Schuler, Zoey Kollhoff, Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal, Julia Eichenbaum and Kennedy Berschel are on the list, with Makena Silber, Bel Rolley and Ashley Cathro serving as the graduate students on the roster.
Illinois will kickoff against Pepperdine at noon on Sunday. The Illini have a tough test ahead of them but have the pieces to secure a victory in Champaign. In what will be their first game at home since Aug. 17, Rayfield’s squad will be hungry to turn things around in front of the sea of orange at Demirjian Park.
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