With just a minute left in the first half of Sunday’s game against Wisconsin, it looked like the Illini were headed toward their second scoreless tie of the weekend.

But before the horn sounded, Illinois had the one goal it would need to beat the Badgers.

Of course, adding two more didn’t hurt either.

The Illini soccer team won its eighth game of the season and found itself on the positive side of .500 in the Big Ten for the first time since conference play started. With a 3-0 victory over the Badgers, Illinois has scored nine goals in its past two Sunday matches.

Do the Illini like to score goals on Sunday?

“Maybe that’s the case,” head coach Janet Rayfield said. “I like it whenever we score goals, whatever day of the week it is.”

That day wasn’t Friday. After 90 minutes of soccer, Illinois and its opponent, Northwestern, failed to score a goal. The drought continued for both teams through two overtime periods to end the game in a scoreless tie.

After failing to finish on its attacks Friday, Illinois rebounded by scoring off restarts and counters Sunday. Defender Kara Gostisha scored her second goal of the season on a header off of defender Danielle Kot’s service ball following a Badger foul. The goal came with just 50 seconds remaining in the period, giving the Illini a much-needed lift heading into the half.

“It pumps us up so much coming into the half with a 1-0 lead,” Kot said. “It’s so huge, but at the same time we know we don’t want to let up any goals to help (goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens) get the shutout record.”

Carstens did get the shutout record, or at least a piece of it. The senior keeper is now tied for the all-time Illini lead for shutouts with former All-American and current goalie coach Leisha Alcia at 24 shutouts.

“It’s a great feeling,” Carstens said. “The defense has been unbelievable in keeping them from even shooting in the first place.”

Carstens was only tested three times on Sunday and just once on Friday, but came up with saves when needed and played a critical role in the organization of the defense. Her relationship with Alcia has made the quest for the record even more enjoyable.

“We were teammates for a year, and coming in, I just thought the world of her,” Carstens said. “It’s just fun now. She wants me to break her record and she wants to help me get there.”

To secure the shutout, and the victory, the Illini continued their offensive pressure throughout the second half. For a while, it seemed Illinois couldn’t buy an insurance goal. Twice midfielder Courtney Bell got shots on net, once hitting the cross bar and another time hitting the goalie square in the chest.

But finally in the 80th minute, reserve forward Charlotte Cooke came off the bench and countered a strong Badger attack with a breakaway that gave Illinois a 2-0 lead. Also coming off the bench was midfielder Cory Steigerwald, who followed up Cooke’s effort with a goal of her own two minutes later.