Sept. 6, 2009

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The No. 11 Illinois soccer team rebounded from Friday's tough loss to No. 9 UCLA with a dominant win, as the Illini defeated UC Santa Barbara 3-0 on Sunday in the final match of the Illini Challenge Cup Presented by Gameday Spirit. Junior Jordan Hilbrands scored two goals to lead the Illini, while freshman Niki Read had a goal and an assist and sophomore Marissa Mykines had two assists.

"We got the job done today," Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield said. "It's too bad we couldn't finish more of our opportunities, but we're on the right track. We scored some great goals. Jordan (Hilbrands) started the day going after them, which got the rest of the team going."

The Illini (3-1-1) out-shot UCSB (1-3-1) 29-5, also owning a commanding 12-1 advantage in shots on goal. Hilbrands' first goal came in the fifth minute on a shot from 10 yards out to the lower left post. Inside the Gauchos' box, Read held the ball and passed it to Mykines, who then found Hilbrands.

Hilbrands scored again in the 21st, winning the ball from a UCSB defender and firing a shot to the far post from inside the 18. The junior leads the Illini with five goals out of the team's 11 this season.

Illinois carried a 2-0 lead into halftime with seven shots on goal to UCSB's zero. After numerous chances on net, the Orange and Blue finally made the score 3-0 in the 62nd. Read scored on a header to the upper left post after a corner kick by Mykines for the freshman's second goal of the season.

Illini goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka tallied the 11th shutout of her career and made one save. In the 65th, Kapicka made a diving stop to punch out UCSB forward Alissa Sanchez's shot from close range. The Gauchos played two keepers during the match, with starter Ali Cutler making five saves and Tammy Lenham making three off the bench.

Junior forward Christina Sahly missed a goal by inches in the 72nd, as her rocket of a shot went just left of frame. Hilbrands and Read kept the UCSB defense busy with four shots apiece, as all four of Hilbrands' attempts and three of Read's were on goal. Senior forward Chichi Nweke also had four shots, two of which were on goal.

With the win in hand, Rayfield was able to go to her bench, as 19 different players got in the game and 17 played 20 minutes or more.

"We have a deep team," Rayfield said. "We were able to get a lot of people in the game to get experience. That was critical for today and will be for the rest of the season, as we will need other players to step up."

Illinois has two challenging tests next weekend in traveling to Oregon for the Nike Portland Invitational. The Illini will face No. 3 Portland on Friday, Sept. 11 at 9 p.m. CT, then play Washington on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.