Illinois football opens Big Ten play Thursday against Minnesota at 7 p.m. Staff writer Scott Ritchie takes a look at Illinois (4-2-1) before hosting the Gophers (5-0-1) at Demirjian Park in Champaign.
Where they started
Illinois’ non-conference record this season isn’t all that different from its non-Big Ten Conference record over the past few years. Over the three seasons combined, Illinois ended up with 18 wins, 28 losses and six ties. Optimism is growing this fall with 11 different goal scorers totaling 17 goals in seven games (21 goals total last year) and redshirt sophomore goalie Izzy Lee boasting a 1.14 goals-against average.
“This team needed some learning games, and I think Georgia and Kentucky certainly provided that,” Illinois coach Janet Rayfield said of her team’s two losses. Georgia held its own against No. 5 North Carolina and drew with No. 1 Florida State, while Kentucky is undefeated and beat then-No. 9 UCLA last weekend.
“As we get closer to conference season and the games get tighter, I think having a good goalkeeper and a good goal scorer is going to be really important,” Layfield said. “We’ve had 11 different players score goals so far, but Sarah Foley is special in her ability in front of goal, so it’s really good to have those two together going into conference season.”
Where are they heading?
The Big Ten tournament begins with five conference teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25. Michigan State leads the way at No. 5, with No. 12 Penn State, No. 17 Iowa, No. 20 Ohio State and No. 22 UCLA rounding out the Big Ten’s ranked teams. USC is one of seven other teams to receive the poll. Michigan is the only team in the conference without at least a .500 record at this point in the season, and the Wolverines knocked Alabama out of the Top 25 with their first win.
“I think it’s going to be closer than it’s ever been,” Rayfield said. “Our sport is low scoring, so when teams are close, the results can go in all different directions. The season is longer, and every game matters. It might be more important than it’s ever been, because now not everyone is going to play.”
“We’ll play 11 of 18 teams, but only 10 will qualify for the postseason tournament. This game against Minnesota will be just as important as our last game against Northwestern. We’ll know more when the Northwestern game comes.”
Who to get back?
Illinois has played the past five games without sophomore defender Maia Archibald as she played for Canada at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Archibald and Canada’s performance in Colombia ended with a 2-1 loss to Spain in the round of 16 on Wednesday. Illinois has relied primarily on freshman Lauren Seppi and seniors Anessa Arndt and Angie Gallo in Archibald’s absence, but will ultimately benefit from the return of the team’s best one-on-one defender and attacking threat at left back.
“I think having the leadership around (Seppi) and Ella Karolak behind her to keep control of the back line has been really important in Maia’s absence,” Layfield said. “(Archibald’s) defensive ability is really special. Going into the Big Ten Conference season, it’s good to have a defender who’s probably better than most in the conference to contain a very talented offensive line.”