Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois
Northwestern Hosts Illinois in In-State Showdown
9/27/2023 11:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Last time out, Northwestern suffered its second setback of the season, a 1-0 loss at the hands of unbeaten Indiana. The Hoosiers scored in the game's second minute and withstood pressure for the remainder of the game to hold on for the clean sheet.
The Wildcats rank third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 2.55 goals per game and fourth in the Big Ten in scoring margin (0.91).
Five different Wildcats have notched a goal and an assist in the same game this season (Aulicino, Boade, del Carmen, Hase, Norkett). Boade has done so four times (at Marquette, vs. Boston U, at Vanderbilt, at Virginia Tech). Aulicino (at Marquette, vs. Oakland) and Hase (at Marquette, vs. Weber State) have done so twice.
Through 11 games, 10 different Wildcats have tallied a goal, matching the total number of goalscorers through all 23 games last season.
Meg Boade ranks first in the Big Ten and second nationally with nine assists.
Emma Phillips leads all Wildcats with 981 out of 990 possible minutes played.
Thursday's matchup will mark the 29th all-time meeting between Northwestern and Illinois on the pitch. Illinois holds a 15-10-3 advantage all-time in the series, with the Wildcats taking the last two meetings in the series. Northwestern routed the Illini 4-0 in Champaign last season behind goals from Josie Aulicino (two), Rowan Lapi, and Danika Austin.
The Fighting Illini enter Thursday's contest at 5-3-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the Big Ten. Sydney Stephens leads the Fighting Illini offensively with four goals. Julia Cili handles goalkeeping duties for Illinois, allowing 1.29 goals per game with an .817 save percentage.
Northwestern continues Big Ten play at home with a meeting with Nebraska on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on B1G+.
