College of Charleston
Illinois
Cougars Fall On The Road at No. 36 Illinois, 6-2
8/31/2013 3:40:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team lost a hard-fought 6-2 road decision at No. 36-ranked Illinois on Friday night at Illinois Soccer Stadium.
Senior forward Victoria Fichman (Matthews, N.C.) netted her second goal of the season in the 56th minute off a deflection off the post to counter three consecutive goals by the Fighting Illini (2-1) and finally put the Cougars (1-2) on the board in the second half of play.
“Our team fought hard the entire 90 minutes against a very highly-motivated Illinois squad,” CofC Head Coach Christian Michner said. “We knew it would be a tough match, but our players worked hard and I'm so proud of their effort tonight.”
Illinois' scoring began in the 29th minute as Allison Stucky found the back of the net off a chip-in into the penalty area to give the Illini the 1-0 advantage.
In the second half, Allie Osoba connected on a cross put into the box from the left side in the 47th minute and Nicole Breece scored off a deflection in the 53rd minute.
Four minutes after the Fichman goal, Illinois took advantage of one of its 12 corner-kick opportunities on the night as Casey Conine scored off the double assist from Breece and Vanessa DiBernardo in the 60th minute, 4-1.
Senior forward McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) got the Cougars within two as she registered her first goal of the season off a pass from sophomore forward Nicole Koretsky (Manalapan, N.J.) in the penalty area that dribbled into the middle of the box in the 75th minute.
Illinois would respond with two more goals in the 82nd and 88th minutes to seal its sixth-straight win in home openers.
“It was nice to coach against one of my mentors in (Illinois Head Coach) Janet Rayfield,” said Michner, who served as an assistant coach at Illinois from 2008-09. “She is one of the best coaches in the game.”
As a team, the Fighting Illini took 33 shots as senior Eli Sarasola (San Sebastian, Spain) saw all 90 minutes in goal for CofC and made six saves.
The Cougars continue their Midwest road swing at DePaul on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. (ET) in Chicago, Ill.
“We certainly will have our hands full with a tough BIG EAST team in DePaul,” Michner said. “We will learn some lessons from tonight's game. We need to be sharper in our own third and prepare to win a game on Sunday.”
