CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior Lauren Steuer scored a pair of goals and freshman Tiffany Cameron added a goal and two assists to lift 19th-ranked Ohio State over Illinois, 3-0, Thursday evening in Champaign.
The win puts the Buckeyes (12-2-2, 5-1-1 Big Ten) on top of the Big Ten Conference standings with 16 points. It also marked the fourth road win for Ohio State in 2009, the most in a single season since 2004.
"Winning on the road is one of the biggest challenges for any team," head coach Lori Walker said. "Our players have done a great job of getting up for each game but we're definitely excited to get back at home and play a good Purdue team."
In a first half controlled by Ohio State, the Buckeyes put early pressure on Illinois goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka, forcing the senior to make three saves on six shots, most of them coming off corner kicks, in the first 30 minutes of play.
After another Buckeye corner, Cameron tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 33rd minute when her shot deflected off an Illinois defender and into the back of the net.
The Buckeyes would not take their foot off the pedal as Cameron played a nice ball to Steuer who finished into the bottom right corner to put Ohio State up 2-0 heading into the break.
"Scoring the two first half goals took a lot of the pressure off of us," Walker added. "Illinois is the kind of team that can rally and get the momentum back in their direction quickly but we were able to tighten up our defense and come away with the win."
At the half, Ohio State outshot Illinois 10-1, including 6-0 on goal, and held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Despite the 2-0 Ohio State lead, the Illini came out strong to start the second half but were unable to capitalize on their early opportunities. Illinois had a pair of shots on goal in the 67th minute but Buckeye goalkeeper Lauren Robertson made the save on one and the other was saved off the line by Danielle Scoliere.
After the two Illinois chances were thwarted, the Buckeyes were able to answer right back and capitalize on an opportunity of their own. In the 73rd minute, Steuer tallied her second goal of the evening, again off an assist from Cameron, to extend the Ohio State lead to 3-0 where it would stay.
For the game, the Buckeyes held a 17-9 advantage in shots, putting nine on goal compared to just two for Illinois. Ohio State also won the battle of corner kicks, 7-4.
After breaking the single-season school record for clean sheets Sunday against Minnesota, Robertson tallied the 28th of her career against the Illini to tie her with former Illinois keeper Lindsey Carstens for second place on the Big Ten career shutouts list.
The Buckeyes return home to take on Purdue Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
