Chambana Sun

Illinois will face Ohio State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, October 30 at 3:30 p.m. CT at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.

This marks Illinois' return to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2020 under new head coach Katie Hultin. The team is seeking its first tournament win since 2018, when it defeated Wisconsin in penalty kicks.

Ohio State leads the all-time series against Illinois with 15 wins, nine losses, and four draws. The most recent meeting between the two teams was on September 28 of this season, resulting in a 3-0 victory for Ohio State in Champaign.

Ohio State's program is led by head coach Lori Walker-Hock and features experienced players such as senior goalkeeper Molly Pritchard and senior forward Ella Giannola. The team has demonstrated both offensive and defensive strength during Big Ten play. In tournament settings, Ohio State tends to rely on experience and depth, aiming to control possession and capitalize on set-pieces or transitions.

Illinois has two players ranked among the top ten point scorers in the Big Ten: Sarah Foley and Cayla Jackson are tied for eighth with 17 points each. The team scored 28 goals during the season, ranking fourth in the conference. This year marks Illinois' first time reaching more than 12 wins in a season since achieving 17 wins in 2011.

Illinois played 11 road games this season—one of only two teams among the top 100 RPI programs to do so—posting a record of seven wins, three losses, and one draw away from home. Among all Division I soccer teams that played at least eleven away matches this season, only Illinois, Weber State, and North Dakota finished with winning records. Illinois’ seven road victories are tied for most in the nation with Texas Tech, Saint Louis, Ball State, Dayton, and TCU.

Head coach Katie Hultin recorded the best start in program history at 7-0-1 through eight matches and extended it to 9-1-1 after eleven matches. She is also noted as "the only head coach in program history to win her first seven games in her debut season and not concede a match in her first nine games." Hultin secured her first ranked win against No.18 Penn State on September 25.

Goalkeeper Izzy Lee has posted nine clean sheets across eighteen appearances this season while making a career-high 102 saves—fourth most for a single season in program history—and now holds fourteen career shutouts. Her nine shutouts are tied for fourth most by an Illini keeper for a single season. She became "the first Illinois keeper to make 100+ saves in a season in twelve years since Claire Wheatley had 101 in 2013" and is "the fifth Illini keeper to make over one hundred saves" during a single campaign.

Sarah Foley leads Illinois with seven goals and seventeen points this year; she registered her first career hat trick against Valparaiso on September 7—the first by an Illini player since Hope Breslin did so in 2021—and has three game-winning goals (fifth most conference-wide). Cayla Jackson also tallied seven goals and three assists for seventeen points overall.

Emma Yee contributed six goals (third highest on team) including her own brace against Valparaiso; Lia Howard has three goals along with seven assists; Ashley Stellon leads with four assists; Sydney Stephens netted three goals—including two game winners—and freshmen Ashlyn Adams (three assists) and Kyra Berman (one assist) made their initial contributions during their debut seasons.