Chambana Sun

No. 16 Illinois soccer will begin its Big Ten conference season at home against Indiana on Friday, September 12 at Demirjian Park in Champaign. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. CT.

Illinois recently entered the Top Drawer Soccer rankings for the first time this year, coming in at No. 16. The team has started the season with a 7-0-0 record under first-year head coach Katie Hultin, marking its best opening since 2004 and tying the program's record for consecutive wins to start a season. Hultin is also the first head coach in program history to win her first seven games in her debut season.

Sarah Foley scored her first career hat trick in Illinois' most recent game against Valparaiso, becoming the first player since Hope Breslin in 2021 to score three goals in a match for the Illini. Foley also recorded an assist, totaling seven points for that game, and is tied for third in the Big Ten with five goals this season.

Cayla Jackson had two assists against Valparaiso, ending a four-year gap since an Illini last recorded two assists in one game; Sydney Stephens previously achieved this feat in 2021.

Goalkeeper Izzy Lee has recorded five clean sheets so far this year—a new personal single-season high—and made 28 saves across seven matches. She leads the Big Ten in shutouts (five), save percentage (0.966), and goals against average (0.154). Nationally, she ranks second, sixth, and seventh respectively in those categories.

As a team, Illinois leads the Big Ten in several statistical areas including goal differential (14), goals against average (0.143), save percentage (0.971), shot accuracy (0.595), shutout percentage (0.857), and won-lost-tied percentage (1.000). The Illini currently hold the longest active win streak in NCAA women's soccer with eight consecutive victories.

Indiana enters Friday's match with a 3-2-1 record, having secured wins over Youngstown State, Ball State, and Ohio while losing to Saint Louis and Bellarmine and drawing with No. 24 Xavier on September 4. In their all-time series against Indiana, Illinois holds a 15-9-4 advantage and won their last meeting by a score of 1-0 on October 17, 2024.

Other notable performances include Emma Yee scoring her first career brace versus Valparaiso—she now has four goals on the season—and Ashley Stellon leading Illinois with four assists so far this year, ranking third-most among all players in the Big Ten.

Freshmen Ashlyn Adams and Kyra Berman each have registered their first collegiate assists during this campaign.