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Hurless, Brown Score As No. 15 Illini Hand UW-Green Bay 2-0 Loss
Oct. 26, 2003
Illinois-UW-Green Bay Box Score in PDF Format
Champaign, Ill. - The 15th ranked Fighting Illini defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay, 2-0, in a non-conference match Sunday afternoon in front of 374 fans at Illinois Soccer Stadium. Tara Hurless and Sarah Brown scored the two Illini goals as the UI defense earned its ninth shutout of the season. The win helped Illinois improve to 12-3-2 overall, while UW-Green Bay dropped to 7-7-1 with the loss. Junior striker Tara Hurless warmed up quickly despite the chilly weather with an early goal in the 18th minute. The Rockford, Ill. native dribbled by a pair of Phoenix defenders and fired a line drive from the top of the box that beat the keeper in the lower left corner to give the Illini a 1-0 lead. The goal, which was unassisted, was Hurless' sixth in the last four games and was her team-leading 12th score of the season. In 61st minute, the Orange and Blue got an insurance goal from an unexpected source in freshman Sarah Brown. Christen Karniski's corner kick to the far post found the 6-1 Brown, who used her height to head the ball past the outstretched UWGB keeper and into the back of the net. The score was Brown's first collegiate goal and was Karniski's team-leading sixth assist. "On other corners, I run in the box on a zone, but on this one I read the ball more," said Brown. "I thought the goalkeeper was going to catch it, but it went through and I was able to get to it. I was really excited to get my first goal, I didn't really know what to do afterwards." The Illini controlled the ball nearly the entire game and out-shot the Phoenix 22-4, while allowing only two shots on goal. Illinois net-minder Leisha Alcia made two saves to earn her eighth shutout of the season. In addition, it was the team's ninth shutout on the year, one less than the school record of ten, set in 2000. This season at home, the Illini have shutout eight of their 10 opponents and have gone 7-2-1 in those contests. "They (UW-Green Bay) came in and defended with a lot of numbers and made it difficult for us to score goals," said Illini head coach Janet Rayfield of today's game. "I think we allowed them to frustrate us a little bit in the first half, and then in the second half we got a lot chances and just weren't able to finish them. We've got to start finishing more of our scoring chances, because the better the team you play, the fewer chances you get. Anytime you can come away with a win, you have to take it and run, but I think performance wise, we all know we can play better."
Up Next: The Fighting Illini (12-3-2, 7-1-2) will host Butler next Friday on Halloween night at 7p.m. for their final regular season game of the season. It will be senior night at Illinois Soccer Stadium, as Illini seniors Meghan Kolze, Jennifer Smith, Kelly Walker and Tiffani Walker will be recognized for their contributions to Illinois soccer prior to the game.
Game Summary - Illinois 2, UW-Green Bay 0 Oct. 26, 2003, Illinois Soccer Stadium, Champaign, Ill.
Goals by period - 1 - 2 - Final
SCORING SUMMARY:
Shots: ILL 22, UWGB 4 |
