The Illinois Tech Women’s Soccer team hosted the Cougars of Cleary University on September 30. Illinois Tech scored an early goal, but the Cougars were able to erase the deficit quickly and score a late tally to win 2-1. The team faced a quick turnaround with an October 1 match at Knox College and clinched a 3-0 victory over the Prairie Fire.

How it Happened – Cleary

• In the second minute of the match, Erin James was able to find the back of the net. The unassisted tally gave the Scarlet Hawks a 1-0 lead.
• Cleary responded quickly, scoring six minutes later to tie the score at 1-1.
• After a very evenly matched remaining portion of the first half, Cleary took the lead in the 53rd minute.
• Illinois Tech had its chances late. A foul negated a late chance for the Scarlet Hawks in the 89th minute as the clock ticked down to 0:00.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• James scored the team’s goal on two shots.
• Katie Hoefgen and Julia Taliana each had three shot attempts. Hoefgen also had a shot on goal.
• Kirsten Robinson took two shots.

Stats to Know

• Illinois Tech held a 13-12 edge in shots, but Clearly led in shots on goal 7-4.
• The Scarlet Hawks had nine corners while the Cougars took just one.
• Fouls were nearly even (Illinois Tech 8, Cleary 7).

How it Happened – Knox 

• In the 20th minute, Taliana struck for the Hawks with an unassisted goal. The tally gave the Scarlet Hawks the first lead of the day.
• Illinois Tech carried a 1-0 lead into halftime despite being outshot 6-4 in the first half. The second half saw an even bigger shot margin in Knox’s favor at 9-3. However, the Scarlet Hawks’ defense held strong behind Elizabeth Bremer in net.
• Taliana added cushion to the lead with another unassisted goal in the 55th minute.
• With a 2-0 lead already in hand, a great throw-in by Katherine Nishimoto in the 63rd minute set up a Hoefgen header for the goal. The 3-0 lead held for the remainder of the match.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Taliana scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season on a team-high five shots (two on net).
• Hoefgen took two shots and scored her sixth goal of the year as well.
• Nishimoto added an assist.
• Bremer made six saves, recording her second career shutout.

Stats to Know

• Illinois Tech has now won three of its last four matches, outscoring opponents 16-3 in those contests.
• Knox did not record one save on the day and out cornered Illinois Tech 7-0.
• Knox fell to 7-5 with the loss. Illinois Tech improved to 3-8-1.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks will host Rockford University on Thursday, October 5 at 7 p.m. Live audio, video, and stats will be available. The live audio will be powered by Illinois Media School.