CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Toledo ended its road trip with a 4-1 loss at Big Ten opponent Illinois Sunday afternoon at Demirjian Park. The Rockets, who played to a 2-2 tie at Dayton Thursday, are now 0-1-1 on the season.
"It was a tough day for our team today," head coach
TJ Buchholz said. "Illinois really took us out of what we wanted to do and we just couldn't find the rhythm offensively all game. A lot of credit goes to Illinois and how well they played today."
Illinois held a 1-0 halftime lead and added two more goals in the second half before Toledo got on the board. Graduate transfer student
Morgan Otteson's unassisted goal came just 35 seconds after Illinois' third goal and cut the lead to 3-1 with 27 minutes to play. Illinois added one more insurance goal with nine minutes left to play to put the score out of reach.
"We will regroup this week and get focused on playing Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday," Buchholz added.
Goals and Key Moments
- 19'| GOAL Ashley Cathro set up Sarah Foley who headed the ball past redshirt freshman Karson Hill to put Illinois on the board first.
- 54'| GOAL Ashley Prell and Sarah Foley assisted Kendra Pasquale to give the Fighting Illini a 2-0 lead.
- 62'| GOAL Ella Karolak connected with Makala Woods who took it down the midfield to the box and past Hill for Illinois' third goal.
- 63'| GOAL Graduate student Morgan Otteson cut Toledo's deficit to 3-1 with her first goal of the season.
- 81'| GOAL Madison Mariani's shot to the upper left corner of the goal extended Illinois' lead to 4-1.
Stats, Notes, and Numbers
- Redshirt-freshman Karson Hill got her first collegiate start in goal and made five saves.
- Otteson's goal was her first of the season for the Rockets and the 22nd of her career.
Up next
The Rockets will host their 2022 home-opener at Paul Hotmer Field on Thursday, Aug. 25 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:00 p.m. Fans can watch the match live on ESPN+ or on BCSN+.
