Chambana Sun

Three members of the University of Illinois women's soccer team have been named to the 2025 Big Ten Soccer Players to Watch list, according to an announcement from the conference on Monday.

Sarah Foley, entering her senior season, is recognized after a standout junior year. She was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team and achieved personal bests in several categories: 11 goals, 33 shots, 22 shots on goal, and six game-winning goals. Her performance marked the highest single-season totals for both goals and points by an Illinois player since 2015. The six game-winning goals are also the most for an Illini since Vanessa DiBernardo's eight in 2011. Foley recorded two braces last season—her first at Mercer on September 8 and her second at Wisconsin on September 19.

Izzy Lee begins her redshirt junior year as one of the top returning goalkeepers in the conference. Last season she started all 18 matches and kept four clean sheets. Lee made 97 saves, tying for sixth-most in a single season in program history. During Big Ten play, she prevented 5.21 goals—the second-best mark—and posted a career-high nine saves three times within five matches (September 8 at Mercer, September 19 at Wisconsin, September 26 at Nebraska).

Emma Yee starts her sophomore campaign following a strong freshman year where she played in all 18 matches with 14 starts. She scored one goal and had two assists during the season. Yee debuted for Illinois against Wright State on August 15, recording her first assist; she scored her first goal and added another assist against Northwestern on October 27.