Chambana Sun

Illinois soccer will open its home schedule with a match against Boston College on Monday, August 25 at Demirjian Park in Champaign. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT and is part of the team's "Monday Night Fùtbol" event, where fans can enter for a chance to win tickets to an upcoming Illinois football game and a reserved tailgating spot.

Following the home opener, Illinois will travel to face DePaul in Chicago on Thursday, August 28 at Wish Field. The team will then play Kentucky in Lexington on Sunday, August 31 at Bell Soccer Complex.

The match against Boston College marks only the second meeting between the two programs. Illinois trails the series after losing their first encounter during the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in 2013. Boston College currently holds a record of 2-0-1 this season, with wins over Stonehill and FDU and a draw against Cornell. Last season, they finished with a 12-5-2 record overall.

Against DePaul, Illinois has won two out of three previous meetings. Their last matchup was on August 18, 2024, when Illinois won 2-1 at home. DePaul enters the contest with a 2-1-0 record this season and advanced past Butler in last year's Big East Tournament before being eliminated by Xavier.

Kentucky leads its all-time series with Illinois, having won all three prior games between the teams. Kentucky has started its current season with three consecutive wins and reached the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament before falling to Notre Dame.

Head coach Katie Hultin recently earned her first victory as head coach of Illinois over UIC on August 14. "Cayla Jackson scored the opening goal of the 2025 season and Hultin era in the third minute against UIC," according to team notes. "It's the second goal of Jackson's career and her second game winner as well. She's now scored a game winning goal for and against Illinois as the only goal she scored last season for Georgia was in their win over the Illini."

Goalkeeper Izzy Lee has recorded two shutouts so far this season, making seven saves across those matches for a total of seven career shutouts.

Sydney Stephens provided another key performance by scoring the deciding goal against Bowling Green on August 17: "Sydney Stephens scored the game winner against Bowling Green on Aug. 17 to improve the Illini to 2-0-0. It's the ninth goal of her career and her third game winner." Freshman Ashlyn Adams assisted on that play for her first collegiate point.

Sarah Foley currently leads Illinois in shots on goal through two games.