INDIANAPOLIS – In a hard-fought battle against No. 17 Butler, the Illinois soccer team came out victorious as junior Julia Eichenbaum scored her first career goal with just over one minute left in regulation to send the Illini to a 1-0 win on Thursday (Aug. 25) night at Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl.
Illinois started its season at 3-0-0 for the first time since 2019, with UI’s last win over a ranked foe also coming during the 2019 season in a 3-2 win over No. 22 Pepperdine on Aug. 30.
The Illini win was also just the fourth loss for the Bulldogs on their home turf since the 2017 season.
“Tonight, was a collective, hard-fought battle from start to finish,” said head coach Janet Rayfield. “Butler is a talented well coached team and they make it a hard place to win. We took a tremendous step forward tonight not just in the victory but in competing the way we did. I am so proud of this group! Tomorrow we will continue the process – learning from this game, getting better, and preparing to compete again!”
It was back and forth battle throughout the opening period, with both teams pressing for the game’s first goal. Junior goalkeeper Julia Cili and the Illini defense had several strong moments in the half to keep the score at 0-0 entering the…
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