After an excellent start to the season, Illinois soccer had some expectations going into the meat of their non-conference slate. Coupled with the official opening of Demirjian Park to fans, and a weekend an Illini fan could only dream of seemed to be within reach.
It got off to a good start on Thursday night against #2 North Carolina. The Illini high press did its job in the 4th minute, forcing an error out of the Tar Heel goalkeeper. Hope Breslin corralled it and found the wide-open net with her shot to give the Illini an early 1-0 lead.