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Hilbrands’ two goals stymie Buffs
Colorado sophomore Kassidy Fitzpatrick dribbles toward goal as the Illini’s Cory Steigerwald defends in the second half Friday night. (photo by Tom Auclair/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Jordan Hilbrands scored two goals as the University of Illinois women’s soccer team defeated Colorado 2-1 on Friday afternoon in Denver.
Hilbrands got the game’s first goal in the 31st minute.
She took a vicious lead pass from Courtney Bell, split two CU defenders and poked the ball past goalkeeper Kara Linder and into the lower right corner of the net.
The goal came against the run of play, after the Buffaloes played most of the opening period in the Illini’s half of the pitch; they simply couldn’t get past goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka and the back line of Krystin Miller, Danielle Kot, Julie Ewing and Caitlin Dombart.
CU’s first-half offensive frustration came to a head 28 minutes into the game, when midfielder Kate Russell, curled a shot so close to the Illinois goalpost that Kapicka probably heard it go past.
Had that shot gone in, the face of the game would’ve changed
“That’s 1-0 us, isn’t it?” Buffs coach Bill Hempen mused. “After all of the pressure we were putting on, we needed some reinforcement going on. Then it makes them chase the game, which I doubt they could under the circumustances.”
But Russell’s shot didn’t go in, the Buffs didn’t take the lead and the Illini weren’t the ones chasing the result. Hilbrands’ first-half goal gave Illinois confidence, and the back line tightened up. In the middle, Miller and Kot were particularly difficult for the Buffs to break down.
“It’s a different game when those defenders are big,” Kassidy Fitzpatrick said. “But you’ve mentally got to prepare for that. I think we did a good job with them at the beginning of the first half, and I think we’ve got to hold onto that for the whole game.”
Illinois kept the Buffs at bay after the opening score and then parlayed it into a two-goal lead in the 53rd minute. Hillbrands broke into the CU penalty area on the left side and beat Linder again into the lower right corner.
“They outsmarted us,” Hempen said. “They had better soccer IQ than us. Once they got ahead, they took the game completely from us, and we didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Nikki Marshall and Fitzpatrick, both of whom started on defense, moved into the offensive attack in the second half. CU had a few more scoring chances, but it was nothing like the first 25 minutes of the match. The Buffs finally got on the scoreboard in the final minute of play.
Fitzpatrick hammered a shot toward goal, and it was blocked by Illinois’ Jenna Carosio. Fitzpatrick pounced on the rebound and fired it past Kapicka into the upper portion of the net.
“I found myself in the right place; I found a channel bgetween two defenders, and I kind of stayed back at an angle from Nikki,” Fitzpatrick said. “My first shot stayed low, but it hit off a defender. Thankfully I kept with it and found a place in the net right over the goalkeeper. I think that was a good opportunity for us. I just want us to finish some more. We had some great opportunities out there, and it would be good if we could finish them.”
PLAYER OF THE GAME: That’s an easy one. Hilbrands.
CU PLAYER OF THE GAME: For the second straight match, I’m going to go with Russell. When building from the back, the Buffs tend to funnel their attack through Russell. She’s very active, working on the left or right or middle of the pitch, and she is able to distribute calmly and efficiently. She was the most effective player on either team.
SAVE OF THE GAME: Linder had much more to do this week than last weekend against Oklahoma State, when she was named the Big 12 defensive player of the week. She made a couple of beautiful stops against Illinois, but none was better than her effort in the 48th minute. Ewing fired a blast from the left side of the penalty area to the top right corner of the net. Linder leaped diagonally and stretched as far as she could to slap the ball wide of its target.
FITZPATRICK’S PRESCRIPTION FOR THE BUFFS: “I really would like us, once we feel like we’re passing the ball around and being comfortable with a team, I just want us to finish our chances. I think that’s the most important thing for us right now. Connecting the ball when we’re under pressure, getting forward and finishing the ball are the most important things right now.”
RANKINGS: Before the game, CU was ranked 18th in the country, and Illinois was 13th.
BREAKING GROUND: The game was the first played in the University of Denver’s new soccer-specific stadium. DU followed this match with a 2-1 victory over St. Mary’s.
AS THE TOURNAMENT CONTINUES: The Buffs will face St. Mary’s (of California) at 11 a.m. Saturday at the University of Denver. The Pioneers will host Illinois in the second game. The pitch is just west of Magness Arena.
ILLINOIS STARTERS: Kapicka, Sahly, Read, Ewing, Kot, Bell, Miller, Steigerwald, Nweke, Dombart, Mykines.
CU STARTERS: Linder, Menachof, Ross, Barczuk, Lowry, Fitzpatrick, Bricker, Butler, Russell, Vitacca, Marshall.
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an affiliate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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