In the Big Ten, points don’t come easy on the road.
For Indiana, Friday night’s conference opener at Illinois proved just that — 90 minutes of back-and-forth soccer that ended in a hard-fought 0–0 draw. At the heart of the result was a pair of goalkeepers who shared the clean sheet and carried the Hoosiers through tense moments.
Senior Dani Jacobson drew the start for Indiana and brought calm from the opening whistle. Jacobson faced one shot on goal in the first half — from Illinois sixth-year midfielder Sydney Stephens — and stopped it with ease. Her communication and presence helped steady a back line that dealt with Illinois’ early energy and never cracked.
Jacobson commanded her box, cleared dangerous balls and ensured that Illinois never found its rhythm in the early parts of the match.
Serving her dues with a clean sheet in the first half, Jacobson gave way at halftime as Indiana made its predetermined switch to graduate goalkeeper Sally Rainey. It’s a tandem Indiana head coach Josh Rife often rotates, trusting the unique strengths each keeper brings to the field.
Illinois pressed hard from the restart, testing Rainey in the 54th minute with a low shot from redshirt sophomore midfielder Ashley Stellon. Rainey was sharp, pushing it aside, then denied Stellon again just three minutes later with another stop on a shot down the middle.
The Illini kept coming. Senior forward Sarah Foley fired toward the top corner in the 61st minute, but Rainey stretched to make the save, one of her best of the night. As the half wore on, Illinois racked up corners and chances to score, but the Hoosier defense — with Rainey as the anchor — refused to yield.
Indiana had its chances to steal the match. Senior forward Marisa Grzesiak came closest, rattling the right post in the 80th minute and then striking just wide of the left upright in the 88th. Inches separated the Hoosiers from walking away with both scores.
But those same inches worked in Indiana’s favor at the other end. Illinois pressed late, forcing Rainey into two clutch saves — one on sophomore forward Cayla Jackson in the 86th minute and another on Stephens just a minute later. Even as the Illini piled up corners in the closing moments, Rainey and her back line stood tall to preserve the scoreless draw.
The second half was a test of nerves for Indiana, and Rainey’s five saves told the story.
The clean sheet marked Indiana’s second consecutive shutout, and a valuable tie in Indiana’s first conference game of the season.
Not every Big Ten result will be headline-worthy, but this one carried weight. The Hoosiers bent at times, weathered Illinois’ pace and ultimately leaned on their goalkeepers to walk out with a draw. During games similar to the Hoosiers’ fight against the Illini, resilience matters more than style.
The Hoosiers will be back on the road next week to take on Maryland in their second conference game of the season. The contest is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Ludwig Field in College Park, Maryland and will stream on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Noah Gerkey (@Noah_Gerk and ngerkey@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women's soccer season.
