Moline's Musings

Catching Up

Posted by: Brian Moline

Thursday, November 19, 2009 8:58 AM

A lot has happened since my last blog entry about ten days ago. A few of the highlights (and lowlights):

* The Illinois soccer team missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 (Janet Rayfield's first season as head coach) after losing at Northwestern to close out the regular season. The Illini's 7-9-3 record tied the lowest win total in program history, matching a 7-10 record in 1997, the first year of varsity soccer at Illinois.

So, what happened? As someone who saw this team in person ten times this season, there wasn't any one area that you can point to and say "that was the problem." Rather, there seemed to be lapses in several different areas at different points in the season. A defense that pitched nine shutouts a season ago came up with only four shutouts in 2009. An offense that got off to a good start by scoring 19 goals in its first ten games, could manage only nine goals in the last nine matches. And eight of those nine goals came in just two games against Iowa (3-1) and Michigan State (5-0).

Here's the good news for Janet Rayfield and the Illini. Only four players will be gone from this year's roster, as goalkeeper Alex Kapicka was granted a medical redshirt year by the NCAA. She will receive tough competition for the starting goalkeeper spot from talented freshman Steph Panozzo. In addition, Rayfield will welcome in another talented recruiting class next year. All of the players who have verbally committed to this point are from the state of Illinois, led by midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo.

* The Illinois wrestling team got its season off to a solid start last Thursday with an 18-16 loss at #10 Missouri in Columbia. First year coach Jim Heffernan has made the dual meet schedule a bit more challenging this season, with duals on the road at Missouri and Iowa State (January 16). We'll see if those duals pay dividends for this Illini squad as the season goes along, but the result against the Tigers is encouraging for several reasons.

Sophomore Jordan Blanton looked good in his debut at 174 pounds, moving down a weight class from last season. He took care of Missouri's Dorian Henderson by a 7-4 score, which got the Illini off to a good start in the dual. Junior John Deneen was impressive filling in for B.J. Futrell at 125 pounds, as he notched a 9-0 major decision victory over Troy Dolan. That has to give Jim Heffernan some confidence in his depth at the lower weights. Redshirt freshman Conrad Polz gave two-time All-American Nick Marable all he could handle on his home mat before dropping a tight 3-2 decision. Developing consistency will be one of the keys for the talented Polz, as he struggled in an open tournament at Lindenwood a couple of weeks ago.

The Illini grapplers will travel east to Binghamton, New York this weekend for the Sprawl & Brawl event, where they'll wrestle duals with Pittsburgh, Davidson and West Virginia.

* What a difference a year makes for the Illini women's basketball team. Jolette Law's talented freshman class has stepped right in alongside Jenna Smith and Lacey Simpson for some exciting basketball to start the season. Friday's overtime loss to Temple should be a good learning experience for this young squad, as you can't ever let up against a quality team like the Owls. The Illini didn't make that mistake on Sunday in their home opener against Siena, and cruised to an 85-53 victory. This team has the depth and athleticism to play the way that Law likes to play: up-tempo and getting easy baskets off turnovers. There will likely be some ups and downs, but this team will never be boring, that's for sure.

Speaking of some downs, freshman guard Amber Moore is out for the season after tearing her left ACL in the season opener against Temple. High School All-American Destiny Williams also appears to be going through some growing pains as she begins her freshman season. Williams played just seven minutes in the season opener on Friday, and was not in uniform for Sunday's game against Siena for what head coach Jolette Law termed "non-basketball" reasons. I hope that Williams can begin contributing to the team soon, as she is a unique talent, but as my colleague Tony Bleill notes, Moore may be a bigger loss right now. She is a sharpshooter from outside, something the Illini were lacking last season to help take the pressure off Jenna Smith in the paint.

The Illini women have home games against Central Michigan on Wednesday and Bradley on Sunday before making the trip an hour west to Bloomington next Tuesday to face defending Missouri Valley champs Illinois State. That should be a good test for this young Illini squad.

I'll be checking in from time to time over the next few weeks, with more regular wrestling updates coming as we get closer to the Big Ten season. Thanks for reading.

bmoline@wdws.com

 

Comments