Illinois Soccer came away from its California road trip with a bad taste in its mouth. After a massive win in Malibu against then No. 22 Pepperdine, the Illini got run off the field by USF. Fortunately, they had three more matches before conference play to get things back on track, and that they did.
First up, a short trip west down I-74 last Sunday evening for a matchup against in-state rival Illinois State. The Illini got off to a very quick start, as Kelly Maday slipped Makenna Silber in behind the Redbird defense in the second minute, and Silber made no mistake, giving Illinois a quick 1-0 lead.