Moline's Musings

Soccer Stampedes #18 Colorado

Posted by: Brian Moline

Friday, August 28, 2009 11:22 PM

The Illinois soccer team improved to 2-0 today with a 2-1 victory over #18 Colorado in the mile high altitude of Denver.  Junior Jordan Hilbrands continued her strong start to the season with her second and third goals of the campaign, as she came off the bench.  Hilbrands made her shots count, as she scored on both attempts during the match.

Statistically, it was a pretty even match, as the Buffaloes outshot Illinois 16-14, but the Illini were able to put five shots on goal, compared to four for Colorado.  The Buffaloes held the advantage in corner kicks by a count of 4-2.

It appears that Janet Rayfield is beginning to settle on a starting back line, as starting defenders Danielle Kot, Krystin Miller, Julie Ewing and Caitlyn Dombart all played the full 90 minutes for the Illini.  Dombart had split time with Laura Knutson and Brittany Garrett in both the exhibition win over Cincinnati and the victory in the season opener against Illinois State.

Starting up top for the Illini today were freshman Niki Read, junior Christina Sahly and senior Chichi Nweke.  Nweke replaced Hilbrands in the starting lineup, as Chichi had been recovering from a minor left knee injury leading up to the opener.  Freshman Shayla Mutz continues to make things happen off the bench for Illinois, as she tallied three shots in her 38 minutes of action.  Freshman Marissa Holden also came off the bench for a few minutes of work.

With senior midfielder Jackie Santacaterina still recovering from foot surgery this summer, junior Cory Steigerwald played the full 90 minutes in the center midfield spot, with the outside midfielder roles being filled by starters Marissa Mykines and Courtney Bell, with Jenna Carosio and Jackie Guerra spelling them off the bench.  Bell assisted on Hilbrands' first goal, while Mykines received the match's only yellow card in the 83rd minute.

The Illini will face another stiff challenge on Sunday as they face the host Denver Pioneers at 2:15 pm central time.  Denver knocked off St. Mary's this evening 2-1.  The second game at altitude is often more challenging than the first, so we'll see how the Illini respond to that test.  So far, they've passed both tests this season with flying colors.  Thanks for reading.

bmoline@wdws.com

Comments

Be the first to share your opinion!