ILLINOIS vs. INDIANA

The University of Illinois traveled to Indianapolis on Saturday February 23 to begin their 2008 season with a game against Indiana from the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA). Under horrible field conditions with plenty of snow on the ground, the Hoosiers were able to win a tight game by one goal (6-5).

Illinois Head Coach A.J. Stevens and the Illinois assistant coaches were looking forward to the Illini’s first game of the season. “Indiana Head Coach Matt Karweck, myself, and Illinois coaches Doug Shanahan and Vince Smith are all coaches or players for the Chicago Machine. It will surely be an opportunity for bragging rights long after this game is played.”

Before the intra-conference contest, Illinois Head Coach A.J. Stevens foreshadowed the loss to IU. “Indiana will surprise some people this year. We played them in the fall and they came out and punched us in the nose. It was an eye-opener for Illinois, we’ll have to bring our A-game to defeat the Hoosiers.”

Coach Stevens was right as the Hoosiers were able to maintain an early lead and pull the upset over the preseason 18th ranked Fighting Illini by one goal.

The game began with the field at Heritage Christian School still showing the signs of the winter weather which has been rolling over the Midwest for weeks.

“It was a hard-fought battle to say the very least,” said new Indiana Head Coach Karweck. “Despite the snow-covered field conditions, both teams showed a lot of heart out there, and pushed until the final buzzer.”

“Ground balls were more important than ever this game because of the slippery field,” added Karweck. “I give the Illinois boys much credit for having at least 2 guys on every ground ball. Coach Stevens had an excellent game plan in the second half, showing us his 10-man, and riding our defense very hard. The Illini have a lot of great players on their team.”

“We went into the fourth up 5-3,” Karweck told, “but it was hard to hold the lead.” Illinois went man-down near the end of the game, and the Hoosiers were able to hold off Illinois to improve to 3 - 0 on the young season.

Illinois will try to bounce back against Marquette from the Upper Midwest Lacrosse League (UMLL) next weekend at the McCook Center in suburban Chicago while Indiana travels to St. Louis to battle Lindenwood and Fontbonne.