Illinois blanks Illinois State in soccer

The 17th-ranked Illinois soccer team opened its regular season in dominating fashion Friday night.

The Illini bolted out of the gates with a pair of goals in the first five minutes, then turned to their trademark lockdown defense in a 4-0 victory against the Redbirds.

Marissa Mykines and Jordan Hilbrands scored early, then Krystin Miller added a goal on a penalty kick for a 3-0 halftime lead. Freshman Niki Read scored in the second half for Illinois.

“It’s great to start the season with a shutout and score some goals,” Illini coach Janet Rayfield said. “At halftime I think we had four shots and three goals, which shows we have the potential to be very productive on offense this year. Last year there were some games we outshot our opponents but came away with a loss.”