Chambana Sun

Illinois will face Washington in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, November 2, at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana. The match is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. CT.

Illinois enters the contest with a record of 13-4-2 and is seeded ninth, while Washington holds the top seed. The two teams met earlier this season on September 21 in Seattle, where Washington won 2-1. The Huskies lead the all-time series against Illinois 4–1 and have won the last four meetings.

Goalkeeper Izzy Lee set a new program record for saves in a single season with 113, surpassing Steph Panozzo’s previous mark of 111 from 2012. In Illinois’ first-round win over Ohio State, Lee made 11 saves, including nine in the first half—a career high for both a match and a half.

Head coach Katie Hultin achieved the best start in program history at 7-0-1 through eight matches and extended it to 9-1-1 through eleven games. She is also the only head coach in program history to win her first seven games during her debut season without conceding a match in her first nine games. Hultin earned her first ranked win against No. 18 Penn State on September 25 and became just the third head coach in program history to win a Big Ten Tournament game during her debut season after defeating Ohio State on October 30.

Sarah Foley leads Illinois with seven goals and seventeen points this season, including three game-winning goals—the fifth most in the conference—and recorded her first career hat trick against Valparaiso on September 7. Cayla Jackson has matched Foley’s tally with seven goals and three assists for seventeen points; she also has three game-winning goals.

Emma Yee has scored six goals this year—third most on the team—and registered her first career brace against Valparaiso. Lia Howard netted four goals this season, including a brace against Penn State and scored the decisive goal versus Ohio State.

Ellen Persson set new personal marks with two goals this year—including her first career game-winner—and leads Illinois in minutes played with over sixteen hundred minutes logged so far.

Ashley Stellon tops the team with four assists, while Sydney Stephens has contributed three goals and an assist. Freshman Ashlyn Adams provided two assists during Illinois’ victory over Penn State; she now has three assists for the season.

Illinois finished fourth among Big Ten teams for total regular-season goals (28) and surpassed twelve wins for the first time since their seventeen-win campaign in 2011. They are one of only twelve Division I programs to play eleven or more away matches this year—posting a road record of seven wins, three losses, and one draw—which ties them for most road wins nationally alongside several other programs.

The winner of Sunday’s match will advance further into the single-elimination tournament as both teams look to capitalize on their strengths amid tight competition.