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| WEEK 1: Illinois (0-0-0) vs. Illinois State (0-0-0) // vs. Toledo (0-0-0) | |
|---|---|
| Match 1: Illinois State | Thursday, Aug. 18 // 7 p.m. CT // Demirjian Park // Champaign, Ill. |
| Match 2: Toledo | Sunday, Aug. 21 // 1 p.m. // Demirjian Park // Champaign, Ill. |
| Watch Live | Illinois State // Toledo |
| Live Stats | FightingIllini.com |
| Printable Notes | Illinois // Toledo |
| Shop | Online Store |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois soccer team is set to open the 2022 season with back-to-back matches this weekend at Demirjian Park. The Illini kick off the action on Thursday (Aug. 18) with its season and home opener against Illinois State at 7 p.m. CT, before taking on Toledo for Senior Day on Sunday (Aug. 21).
The 2022 season marks the 26th season of Illinois soccer, with the Illini holding an overall record of 270-202-39 (.567), and the 21st season under the leadership of head coach Janet Rayfield.
Admission is free to all home Illinois soccer matches, with spectator parking available in the Atkins Tennis Center parking lot and the grass lots just east of the soccer practice field.
Promotions
Thursday, Aug. 18 vs. Illinois State | 7 p.m. CT
Home Opener – Illinois soccer opens its 26th season with its season and home opener on Thursday Night.
DIA Night – It is DIA Staff Appreciation Night at Illinois Soccer this Thursday! DIA staff in attendance will receive a ticket for free popcorn and be entered into a halftime drawing for two sets of two Colonnades Club tickets for Illini Football’s home opener vs. Wyoming. We’ll also bring DIA staff to the sideline at 6:45 p.m. CT to form a pre-game tunnel for our student-athletes to run through on their way to the field.
Bark in the Park – Recurring every Thursday home match this season, fans and their furry friends are welcome to watch the Illini soccer matches from just beyond the Demirjian Park fence. No dogs are allowed inside the Demirjian Park complex and fans must sign a waiver.
Sunday, Aug. 21 vs. Toledo | 1 p.m. CT
Senior Celebration – Illinois will honor seniors in a pregame ceremony for their hard work and dedication to Illini Soccer.
Soccer Planet Youth Days – Soccer Planet will host kid clinics one hour prior to select Sunday matches.
Last Time Out
The Illini earned a pair of exhibition wins during the preseason, starting things off with a 5-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Aug. 6, before taking a 2-1 upset victory over No. 4 Virginia in a neutral-site contest in Maple City, Mich.
Scouting Illinois State
The Illini lead the all-time series with the Redbirds, 11-4-2, with Illinois taking a 5-1 victory in the last meeting between the two schools a season ago on Aug. 22 in Normal, Ill. Former standout Hope Breslin recorded the first Illini hat trick since 2015 when Janelle Flaws scored three goals vs. Saint Louis, while redshirt-senior Makena Silber finished with a brace for the second time in her Illini career after previously scoring two goals against Colorado College in 2019.
The Redbirds posted a 4-10-3 record in 2021, finishing in a tie for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. ISU was voted to finish nine in the 2022 conference standings in a vote of the league coaches.
Scouting Toledo
The Illini will face off against the Rockets for just the third time in program history and lead the series 2-0-0 after posting a 1-0 victory last season on Sept. 12 in Toledo, Ohio. The Illini held the Rockets to just three shots on goal in the match and just one in the second half, while the Illinois offense fired 15 shots (10 on goal) and broke through in the 79th minute courtesy of sophomore Sydney Stephens.
Toledo was recently picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference, according to the 2022 preseason poll. The Rockets will look towards their seniors Ashton Cassel and Stephanie Currie to lead the team this season, along with 2021 MAC Freshman of the Year McKenna Schultz and second-team All-MAC honoree Olivia Dault. Cassel played all 20 contests last season at midfield while Currie had the team’s second-highest shot total at 39, with 21 being on goal. Both Cassel and Currie contributed two goals while Dault had six. Schultz led the team with four assists and was the top defender in the conference.
Illini Notes
- The Illini are entering their 26th season of competition, and the 21st under head coach Janet Rayfield.
- Illinois is coming off a 5-11-1 season, including a 1-8-1 mark in Big Ten action.
- The Illini are returning 24 letterwinners from last season, while welcoming in nine newcomers to the roster.
- Pasquale is the leading point getter returning from the 2021 squad with 10 points on four goals and two assists. The redshirt-senior owns 11 goals and five assists in her Illini career.
- Also returning is sophomore Sydney Stephens, who led the Illini with five assists on the season.
- The Illini return 10 players with 10+ starts last season (Makena Silber, Kendra Pasquale, Aleah Treiterer, Ashley Cathro, Eileen Murphy, Sydney Stephens, Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal, Maeve Jones, Angie Galo, Mackenzie Schuler).
- Freshman Lia Howard was named the 2021-22 Gatorade New York Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
Illini Trio Named to Big Ten Players to Watch List
The Big Ten announced its Women’s Soccer Preseason Players to Watch List on Monday (Aug. 15) with redshirt-seniors Ashley Cathro and Kendra Pasquale and senior Eileen Murphy representing the Illini.
A defender from Victoria, British Columbia, Cathro played in all 17 matches and started in 16 for the Illini a season ago, while also leading the team in minutes played (1,502) during the 2021 season.
Pasquale, a defender from Naperville, Ill., was also named to the Preseason Players to Watch List last season. She started 16 of the 17 matches she saw action in, totaling four goals and two assists on the season. The 2020 Third-Team All-Big Ten honoree also teamed up with Makena Silber to score the fastest pair of goals in Illinois history, scoring just 22 seconds apart in the 2021 season opener at Missouri and owns 11 goals and five assists in her Illini career.
Another mainstay in the Illini lineup, Murphy appeared in all 17 matches for the Illini last season, starting 15 contests. The midfielder from La Grange Park, Ill., registered 13 shots, including five on goal as a junior and owns four career goals as an Illini.
Next Up
The Illini next head on the road for the first time during the 2022 season, traveling to Indianapolis, Ind., for a 7 p.m. CT match at Butler on Thursday, Aug. 25, before taking on Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. CT.