Illini Soccer 2026
Chasing a record for nil-nils in a season. Also Izzy Lee is amazing
3-0 loss to Purdue. NCAA chances are dwindling.
Finally!!
That is poor from the Big Ten.
The officials ruled that an Illinois player was in an offside position and interfered with the goalie’s ability to see the shot. However MSU had a player that had gone beyond the end line. That player should have been considered even with the end line and keeping the Illini attacker onside. It is an egregious error by the assistant referee and one the center referee should have overruled. It ridiculous that the replay official reviewed the video and did not confirm it was a good goal. A massive error with a huge impact on the big ten standings and Illinois’ NCAA tournament resume. Obviously you never know how the game would have turned out but certainly an officials’ error.
Setting aside the error I thought the team played pretty well and was much more organized and willing to try and build out a bit than in earlier games. It was a nice goal by Michigan State, but I thought the Illini deserved some points today.
Looking at the B10 standings generally - Purdue having quite the season. They feasted on cupcakes early but have been getting some good results so far. Didn’t see that coming with all their roster turnover.
Anyway, let’s hope the Illini can turn it around and find some points this week.
Looking at the B10 standings generally - Purdue having quite the season. They feasted on cupcakes early but have been getting some good results so far. Didn’t see that coming with all their roster turnover.
Anyway, let’s hope the Illini can turn it around and find some points this week.
Are we sure it's about the goalie ability to see? Video quality is not great, but looks like the Illinois player got a head on it. If she did, it could legit be offside. If she did not, it was not offside.
Just a quick clarification on the offside rule as it confuses a lot of people. It's not that the player has to be behind the last defender. It's that the player has to be behind the last two players, including the goalkeeper.
The Illinois player in question is not offside when the shot/cross is made. That seems clear. But if that Illinois player gets a touch on it (and the way she flicks her head makes me think she did), which is hard to see, then at that point it looks to me like she might be offside because she has moved in to the point where her back leg could be putting her offside relative to the goalkeeper.
Watch the video again. There is a MSU defender that is trying to stop the cross into the box. She ends up past the end line. She is just out of the frame of your screenshot. She is the deepest player and then the goalkeeper so the Illinois player is onside. I think it was pretty clear that she was not even with the goalkeeper and had moved into that position prior to the shot. Whether the Illinois player was ruled to head to ball or obstruct the view of the goalie should not have mattered because the goalie and the player off the field were between her and the goal.
What I'm saying is a part of the Illini player's body may be behind the goalkeeper. It's tough to tell because of the angle. Presumably, for the video review they'd have had a better angle.
I suppose the the back leg of the Illini attacker could maybe be in line with the front leg of the goalie. Like you said the angle is not great but assume the coach had other angles if she was posting this in public.
That was a must win last night. I think another Illini attacker was just whistled for offside.