This season’s NCAA bracket brought deja vu for Illinois women’s soccer head coach Janet Rayfield. In 2008, the Illini faced off against Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament, defeating the Tigers 4-3 in penalty kicks. The victory advanced Illinois to the second round of the tournament to face North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., where it lost 3-0. This year, the Illini again faced Missouri in the first round of the NCAA tournament and sealed the victory 3-0 in penalty kicks. They will once again travel to Chapel Hill to compete for redemption against North Carolina, Rayfield’s alma mater.
“It’s always a great moment when you can play against coaches that you admire, and certainly there is none that I admire more than Anson (Dorrance) at my alma mater,” Rayfield said. “It’s fun to go back there, and I can go back there with pride and show off this team. I’m excited for them to step out on the field that I played on and play with the kind of pride and intensity that they have instilled in this program.”
Corner kicks create dangerous opportunities
The Illini were the first ones on the board with a goal by junior Allie Osoba in the 19th minute. Illinois held the lead at halftime, but Missouri came out with a fiery offensive attack to begin the second half.
The Tigers outshot the Illini 17-6, recorded four fouls and were awarded five corner kicks, giving Missouri multiple opportunities to tie the score. Missouri was awarded a corner kick that helped contribute to the setup of its equalizing goal in the 53rd minute by junior Danielle Nottingham. Illinois uses the same plan almost every time to defend dangerous corner kick attempts.
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“We have a couple of formations, but it is usually the same,” senior Niki Read said. “We do a mix of zone and man-to-man marking, but one of the main things we talk about is (how) the play isn’t over until it is over. We don’t take any mental breaks on corner kicks until the ball is 100 percent out of the box.”
Illinois confident in penalty kick situations
With the score remaining 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, a penalty kick shootout decided the match against the Tigers. This is a situation the Illini are familiar with this season and had a mutual feeling of confidence before the shootout began. Illinois goal keeper Steph Panozzo entered the match with 97 saves and earned seven more, increasing her total to 104. She is currently in second place in Illinois history for most saves in a season, and only seven behind leader and current assistant coach Leisha Alcia. Panozzo blocked two out of the three shots by the Tigers, while all three Illinois players successfully converted their shots for a 3-0 victory.
“I really feel like penalty kicks are all about a mentality rather than a skill,” senior Shayla Mutz said. “I think because we won against Minnesota in PKs, that gave us confidence, then this game as well will give us confidence if we go into them again, which we hope we don’t have to.”
Gina can be reached at [email protected] and @muelle30.
