Nebraska got back in the winning column after a 1-0 victory over Illinois on Thursday night.
Near goals were the story of the first half for the Huskers.
Within the first minute of the game, junior midfielder Sadie Waite drove down and barely missed a goal. The Huskers came out aggressive. After an out of bounds kick, sophomore midfielder Ella Guyott nearly scored on a header. This soccer team didn’t look like a team that had already lost four straight early on.
“That was kind of what the game plan was, I think just making sure we played a complete 90 minutes,” senior midfielder Sarah Weber said postgame. “I think in the last four games, we had really good moments, but we weren’t consistent throughout the whole game.”
Nebraska kept getting good shots on the goal early. With 36 minutes left in the first half, senior defender Jordan Zade had another near goal. Even though the Huskers weren’t getting the ball in the goal early, they kept pushing in the Fighting Illini’s territory.
It was only a matter of time until Weber let her presence be known. With 27 minutes left in the first half Weber nearly missed the first goal of the contest. At the 22-minute mark, Nebraska had two corner kicks from junior defender Lauryn Anglim, the first was nearly put in by Waite, but neither resulted in a score.
With 13:38 in the first half, the Huskers caught a break when Illinois junior midfielder Mia Howard nearly put the Fighting Illini on the scoreboard, but it went wide right.
At the 10-minute mark in the first half, Nebraska sophomore defender Reese Borer made a great defensive stop at midfield. If she would’ve missed, it would have been nothing but green grass for Illinois.
At the half, the game was still deadlocked at zero, but the reigning Big Ten champions seemed to have the momentum going into the locker room. Nebraska finished the first half with 12 shots, zero saves, one foul, four corner kicks and zero offsides. Illinois at the half had three shots, three saves, five fouls, zero corner kicks and four offsides.
The second half started off with another corner kick by the Huskers, but still didn’t get one in. With 38 minutes left, Weber passed the ball to senior forward Abbey Schwarz but they missed a golden opportunity to get on the board.
The Huskers finally got on the scoreboard with a little over 32 minutes remaining with Weber heading the ball in off of a corner kick assisted by Anglim, making it 1-0. These two stars practice this nearly every day.
“A lot of reps,” Anglim said postgame. “We practice it almost every day. We have specific days that we are just set play and to get a set play goal, It’s good because we do practice it a ton.”
Nearly 20 minutes into the second half Schwarz and Weber appeared to be shaken up simultaneously, but stayed on the field until true freshman defender Reese Snowden substituted in for Schwarz. Weber remained in the contest.
Schwarz came back in after a few minutes, a good sign for a team that has battled injuries so far this season.
Corner kick specialist Anglim nearly had another assist, but the Fighting Illini sophomore goalie Izzy Lee stopped it this time with 13:37 left in the contest.
With 9:30 left in the game, Illinois freshman defender Mia Gildea was shaken up. Weber received a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct after the injury. The crowd was not a fan of the foul.
The Huskers came out with fire. Even though they only scored one, the aggressiveness from the team stood out.
“It was definitely crucial to get back on the board, just to gain some momentum,” Weber said postgame.
The final stats for Nebraska consisted of 26 shots, 11 corner kicks, 12 fouls and two saves. Illinois finished with eight shots, zero corner kicks, 10 fouls and nine saves. The Huskers’ ability to get this many shots off was the difference in the game.
Nebraska’s offensive power came through tonight, keeping the ball in Illinois territory. The reigning Big Ten champions now have some much-needed momentum.
“I think showing ourselves that we are capable of what we ultimately know, but to prove it was big for us,” Anglim said postgame.
Injuries have affected the Huskers this season. Nebraska has had to figure out how to fill the void in the wake of adversity.
“Injuries is just an opportunity for other people to step up and make an impact,” Anglim said. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing you can do about it, and we have enough depth on the team where they can make an impact.”
The Huskers will return to action Sunday, where they will take on Penn State in Lincoln.
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