Freshmen shine in 4-0 win against Mizzou
Photo Courtesy of Craig Pessman/Fighting Illini Athletics
The Illinois soccer team huddles up during the game against Ohio State on March 21. The team won 4-0 against Mizzou on Thursday.
August 19, 2021
On Thursday night Illinois took home the Braggin’ Rights win against Mizzou with freshmen and veterans scoring and goalkeeper Julia Cili getting a shutout in her first of many college minutes.
The opening day for women’s college soccer saw a lot of matches and Illinois played theirs in a hot Columbia, Missouri night.
Coming off a 4-0 loss against Notre Dame, Illinois were looking to bounce back and it was clear they did just that.
From the start of the whistle the Illini were putting the pressure on the backline and dominating the field. With lots of movement in the attacking third, Illinois didn’t get their best chance of the game until the 20th minute after a service from Hope Breslin to Makena Silber volleyed shot got blocked by a defender in front of the net.
Even more shots and more momentum from Illinois they got a breakthrough in the 31st minute. Transfer from Georgia Sydney Stephens sent a ball over the top for Abby Lynch to run on to. Lynch cut to her left foot in the box and easily slotted it in to get her first goal in her first game in an Illini uniform.
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Heading into the second half Missouri tried to get the pressure on early looking to get the tying goal, but Illinois kept their momentum from the first half.
By the 53rd minute, the ball was with Mizzou and Kendra Pasquale used her muscle and speed to get away from her defender onto goal where she tucked it right under the goalkeeper’s legs to give them the two goal lead.
Illinois wasn’t just done yet as 22 seconds later a ball from Silber to Breslin led to another goal. Breslin, all on her own, faked the last defender before putting it in from short range getting her back on the scoring radar after not getting any in the spring.
The Illini started and ended the game with freshmen scoring as Maeve Jones got her name on the scoresheet in the 78th minute. The ball rolling off a tackle from Mizzou landed in the path of Jones, and she buried it in the back of the net to seal the game.
The next game for Illinois will be on Sunday against Illinois State University in Bloomington.
@AngelleCortes
