After losing to No. 7 Michigan, the Illinois soccer team rebounded with a win over Michigan State to maintain its Big Ten tournament hopes.

Heading into the weekend, The Illini (9-7-2, 4-5-1 Big Ten) needed three wins in its final three games to guarantee a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. Head coach Janet Rayfield emphasized the importance of the team’s control of its destiny. The windy Friday night contest saw close competition from Michigan and Illinois as the teams exchanged chances throughout the game.

The Wolverines’ trio of Meghan Toohey, Madisson Lewis and Tori McCombs was a constant thorn in Illinois defense’s side as Michigan’s offense used its speed often. Lewis broke the deadlock in the 24th minute and a professional foul of the speedy Toohey was the template for Michigan’s second, 12 minutes later.

The difference was the Wolverines’ top-ranked defense as the nation’s best backline held the Illini scoreless. Michigan’s high defensive line congested the center of the field and many of Illinois’ shots came from long range.

“We played great everywhere else on the field (except in front of the goal),” forward Janelle Flaws said. “Our movement off the ball and the chances we created were great but just didn’t get the finishing part.”

The 2-0 loss left Illinois with 10 points in ninth position, one outside the final qualification spot.

Sunday was the final regular season home game for six Illinois seniors. After seven games on the sideline, captain Vanessa DiBernardo joined fellow seniors Kassidy Brown, Megan Pawloski, Christina Farrell, Kristen Giermann and Lauren Parkin in the starting lineup.

“It was an emotional day and everyone said: ‘Play for the seniors, play for each other.’ And I think everyone definitely did that (Sunday),” said junior midfielder Allie Osoba, a member of the 2010 matriculation class.

The Illini began the game with the large share of possession, as the Spartans were content to play conservatively. Michigan State’s counterattacking game plan almost paid dividends as the best chance of the half fell to its forward Paige Wester. As a cross from the right flank sailed over Illinois goalie Claire Wheatley’s head, Wester ran on to head the ball at an empty net, but pressure from Illinois’ Farrell sent the header wide of the left upright post.

Both sides created better chances after the half, but neither team was able to put the ball in the net until the 79th minute. Pawloski lined up for one of her numerous flip throws of the game, which the Spartans had trouble clearing as they had all afternoon. Two defenders misjudged the throw and as the ball bounced over their heads, Osoba stole in behind them to slam home her fifth goal of the season.

The tally by the team’s second top scorer was followed by an effort from the NCAA’s scorers chart leader, Flaws, striking a 22-yard free kick into the top right corner of the MSU goal to seal the win.

The goal was Flaws’ 19th of the season, breaking the Illinois record Emily Brown set in 1999.

The defensive fortitude of both sides was the story of the day with both sides held scoreless for nearly 80 minutes, but one team’s backline was able to hold out longer than the other’s and Rayfield knows the reason why.

“We talk about defense being the back four and a goalkeeper, today that defense was our midfield and forwards doing a lot to deny service,” Rayfield said.

After losing their last two games with a combined 7-0, Illinois’ high-powered offense and improving defense appeared to have hit a wall. With the last game of the regular season at Minnesota coming up and a playoff berth looming, the team is hoping that it has found its footing at the right time.

“This defense is maturing,” Rayfield said. “It’s a good time for that because we certainly need to go into Minnesota with some confidence in our defense and in our attack.”

Lanre can be reached at [email protected] and @WriterLanre.