Nov. 20, 2004

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--After battling through the first and second rounds on the road, the Fighting Illini soccer team (16-5-2) felt the warm welcome of a record-breaking 1,046 fans at Illinois Soccer Stadium and responded with a 2-1 victory over Nebraska (14-9-0). With the win, the Illini stay perfect at home with an 8-0-1 record and take on "Elite Eight" status as they move on to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

After a halftime appearance at last night's Illinois men's basketball game encouraging fans to come out and cheer the team on, head coach Janet Rayfield was thrilled with the turnout in the stands.

"To play against a team that plays with as much heart and emotion as Nebraska our crowd was huge for us," said Rayfield. "The crowd was an important part in us being able to maintain our energy."

The Illini players also felt the intensity of the crowd on the field, as the Orange and Blue came out aggressive against the Cornhuskers, getting on the board first in the opening period. Junior midfielder Paula Faherty caught a rebound from a corner kick at the 20:06 mark and fired a shot past Nebraska goalkeeper Katie Wright from 15 yards out for her second goal of the season.

The Cornhuskers would respond in the 29th minute with the help of Wright. Utilizing her strength at firing accurate free kicks, Wright launched the ball from 70 yards out that found midfielder Brooke Bredenberg inside the box, who headed it past Illini goalkeeper Leisha Alcia to even the score.

Both teams battled back and forth for the duration of the first half, but the score would remain knotted at one. With five minutes remaining, it looked as though overtime was in the near future until the 85:16 mark when sophomore forward Jessica Bayne was fouled inside the box to set up a penalty kick. Sophomore defender Sarah Brown, who converted her first PK of the year against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament, would come up big for the Illini, firing a shot past Wright for the lead.

"I saw (Jessica) go down in the box and from where I was standing I couldn't really call it either way," said Brown. "We have been practicing penalty kicks all week and I knew I could do it, so I just had to do what I do all the time."

From there, the Illini kept great composure, keeping Nebraska out of scoring territory. For Alcia, the last four minutes seemed like an eternity as the team went into defensive mode to hold on for one of the biggest wins in Illini history at home.

"It was a great ending to a great game," Alcia said. "I can't describe the feeling after the whistle blew, because it probably was the longest four minutes of my life. Overall it was a great game."

The Orange and Blue are now 4-4 all-time in the NCAA tournament and move into the quarterfinals, where they face No. 16 seed Santa Clara, who posted a stunning 1-0 upset over top-seeded North Carolina in overtime.

The Illini out-shot Nebraska 17-7 and held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Alcia finished the night with four saves, while Wright takes the loss with seven.

Up Next: The Illini await word on their quarterfinal meeting with the 16th-seeded Santa Clara Broncos, who defeated top seed North Carolina 1-0 in overtime earlier this evening.

Nebraska head coach Tim Champion

Thoughts after the match...
"It was a hard fought game with two teams that have different styles. They were trying to penetrate and possess the ball. Early in the game, I felt like they had a little more of an edge but gradually we came into it. In the second (half), we did very well and had a couple of chances. From an effort standpoint I couldn't be prouder."

"In my 11 years I couldn't be prouder of another team from their work ethic, for their ability to work together to not make excuses and to do all of the things as a coach you ask them to do. It is a hard way to end, but with what they were in control of, they did extremely well. I'm sure most people don't realize the hardships that they have had to overcome, but they are a tremendous group to work with and it is just disappointing that is the way it ended."

On shutting down Illinois' Tara Hurless...
"Abby (Penas), Katie (Wright) and all of the back four did a great job. We played zone and Abby wasn't necessarily matched up against her, but when she (Hurless) was in Abby's area she did a tremendous job and when she was on Aly's (Scace) side she did great as well."

On his team...
"For a lot of young people it was a good example of a group, with hardships on how they came together and fought for each other. They do things the right way, don't cut any corners, and do things that most people didn't think they could do. We had a cause and inspiration to make sure we honored Jenna properly. In all of our games they fought hard and that's all we can ask for."

Illinois Head Coach Janet Rayfield

On what it means for the program...
"Every step is a step forward for the program. We will do the same thing we did last week by celebrating tonight and will start working Monday or Tuesday to put ourselves in the best position to get to the Final Four. The last two victories and the whole path through the NCAA tournament is where we wanted this program to be. I told the team in the locker room before the game that this might be the end of the beginning. We are no longer a new program but a program to be reckoned with."

On Nebraska...
"They were a team that plays with a lot of heart and emotion and we knew that coming in. One of things that they have going for them, with all of things they have been through, this is a game to them and they can put it into perspective and just leave everything on the field and they did that tonight. They played with as much heart as any team we have played all year and I give them credit for that."

On playing Santa Clara instead of North Carolina...
"It is disappointing for me as an alum of North Carolina for them to be out, but it really doesn't matter who we play; we are going to do the best job during the week to prepare and it would be the same whether we play Santa Clara or North Carolina. We just know that we are going to play a good team and we are going to have to prepare for that team and we are going to have to play to the best of our ability to beat that team. I probably know Carolina better than I know Santa Clara so that probably means I'm going to have to work a little harder this week."

On the team's fighting attitude...
"I think we demonstrated it tonight by continuing to go after the goal. Tara Hurless, every time she got the ball she was going after it. Our front-runners kept going at them. That has been a hump for us to overcome, when your're not scoring goals you tend to get frustrated because when your're not scoring goals its like a fruitless effort. The more you go at them, something is going to crack, but credit to them they fought in the box. We just had to keep at them and we showed that tonight by winning balls in the air. Every time we gave up a free kick you kind of held your breath. We tried to stay with them and stay composed and you could see the composure in our team when we kept the ball at the end of the game. That shows the maturity that this team has shown this year."