Head coach Katie Hultin got her first Big Ten win Thursday as No. 18 Illinois (8-1-1, 1-1-1) defeated Oregon (2-6-2, 0-2-1) 1-0 on the road. The win also extended the Illini’s best start in program history to eight wins, one tie and still no losses.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Hultin said. “(I’m) super proud of the mentality and buying in this group has in terms of taking it one game at a time and playing our game.”
Sticking with it
Although Oregon started the opening minutes fast-paced and on the attack, Illinois kept possession of the ball for most of the first half. Sophomore forward Emma Yee played a huge role in trying to create offensive opportunities for the Illini and take advantage of their longer possession periods.
Yee wasn’t shy in using her speed to separate herself from her defender in one-on-one situations. While the sophomore didn’t have a shot on goal in the first half, her hustle gave Illinois an offensive boost after its slow start.
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The Oregon defense did a nice job of containing Illinois from capitalizing on one-on-one opportunities within the first 10 minutes. The Illini were either forced to give up the ball in these situations or attempt an unideal shot.
However, in the 15th minute, senior forward Lia Howard forced a foul on her defender to give senior forward Sarah Foley a penalty kick attempt. Foley stepped up to kick the attempt with confidence and shot the ball into the top left corner to put the Illini up 1-0.
Second-half team
Even after going up 1-0 early, the offense never settled into a groove for the Illini in the first half. Whether it was not putting the ball in the right place to get a good first touch or passes that were too long to connect, the Illini struggled to execute. Oregon also focused on intercepting Illinois’ passes, which created turnovers.
“A lot of it is little details and controllable things,” Hultin said. “Then also just staying consistent throughout the entire game. I think sometimes we turn off, and then we have to work a little bit harder defensively.”
Similar to its draw against Indiana last week, Illinois found its rhythm in the second half. Even when the small details weren’t executed out of the gate, staying composed was key. The Illini came out in the second half looking sharper, which played a crucial role in securing the win.
“I think we’ve become a little bit more of a second-half team,” Hultin said. “We don’t want that, but we are pretty good at solving problems in the second half and talking about it at halftime. They definitely came out with a different energy in the second half, a little bit more confidence too.”
While most of the second half was spent in the neutral third, it was clear the Illini were in control. Foley started to settle in by using her quick first step and becoming more active. Freshman forward Ashlyn Adams also found herself in a more active position to get Illinois into its offensive third.
Holding off Oregon’s attack
Where the Illinois offense failed to execute at times, the defense stepped up. The Ducks wanted to turn the match into a track meet by getting into transition as much as possible. Thanks to the Illini defense, that didn’t happen. In the few times where Illinois lost possession of the ball, it got it right back by stopping the transition in its defensive third.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Izzy Lee had another stellar performance in the victory. Lee recorded her seventh clean sheet of the season, extending her national lead.
Not executing on corner kicks plagued the Ducks all night. They had 11 corner kick attempts compared to the Illini’s four, but struggled to keep possession of the ball after. Hultin noted her team is prepared to keep the ball out of the goal in situations like these.
“I think their confidence and relentless attitude around the goal,” Hultin said in response to what the team did well to limit Oregon on its corner kicks. “I think we’ve really trained that and coached that. We believe in them, so it’s nothing too tactical, just more of a mentality.”
Coming up
Illinois stays on the west coast this weekend to take on Washington (5-1-4, 2-0-1) Sunday at 3 p.m. CST. The two teams last faced off in 2017, where the Huskies took home the win 2-1.
