Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Drops Conference Contest to Illinois
10/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Boxscore
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's soccer team suffered a 2-0 setback to Illinois Friday night (Oct. 26) on the U-M Soccer Field.
Junior goalkeeper Madison Gates (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) made two spectacular saves to keep the game tight, while senior Melissa Dobbyn (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson) led U-M's fruitless attack with three shots.
Michigan got a golden opportunity to strike first off of a corner kick-clearing attempt that landed at the feet of junior Kristin Thomas (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek). Thomas picked off the ball 12-yards out and tried to snap a shot just inside the post. As her shot sailed toward the goal, the Illinois goalkeeper was able to get just enough on the ball to drive it off the post and wide.
Illinois broke through in the 40th minute off the foot of Ella Masar to make the score 1-0. Jessica Levitt forced a turnover outside the U-M 18-yard box and made a pass to Masar who used a screen to put the ball into the net inside the far post.
Masar struck again early in the second half, putting the Illini up 2-0 in the 54th minute. In a goal that was strikingly similar to her first, Maser got a pass off of a turnover and sent a low shot inside the far post for her second goal of the night.
Gates kept the score close with a diving save in the 64th minute and again in the 88th minute. The second of her exceptional saves required the Michigan goalkeeper to slide side-to-side to make the initial near post save and recover to prevent a shot off of the rebound at the far post.
Michigan heads to Oakland for a one-game road stand on Sunday (Oct. 28). The non-conference match is slated for 1 p.m. in Rochester Hills, Mich.
GAME SUMMARY
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
| Illinois | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring, Time (Assist)
1st -- ILL, Ella Masar, 39:09 (Jessica Levitt)
2nd -- ILL, Masar, 53:38 (Emily Zurrer)
Shots: U-M 13, ILL 15
Saves: U-M 2 (Madison Gates), ILL 4 (Lindsey Carstens)
Corner Kicks: U-M 3, ILL 6
Fouls: U-M 8, ILL 8
Cards: None.
Contact: Ryan Sosin (734) 763-4423
