CHAMPAIGN — Led by the scoring of sophomore Erika Belmont and senior Aran Yoo, the Illineks made their 2008 debut with a stunning 2-1 defeat of the Class AA Centennial varsity on Tuesday.

Senior Sarah Pfander was outstanding in her first game as varsity goalkeeper, making 13 saves.

"The play was fairly even for most of the game, but there were still times when Centennial mainly dominated," said Belmont, who scored Uni's first goal.

"[Sophomore] Michelle Wong was basically controlling the center, but she got hurt at the end of the first half, which hurt us a bit even though she came back and played a little in the second half.

"I think we really picked it up after the first goal, especially since the Uni crowd and the Uni JV were going crazy. We started playing a lot better, and Aran's goal came off of a really nice play that involved a lot of people helping bring the ball up. It was all really exciting."

The past two seasons, the Illinek varsity lost to Centennial 3-0 each time.

The first half of Tuesday's contest seemed to promise more of the same as the host Chargers took a 1-0 lead thanks to Megan Hinds' goal 19 minutes into the match. Hinds scored on an unchallenged loose ball in front of the Uni goal.

That's where things stood as the first half ended, but the Illineks had reason to be optimistic. In last year's game, Centennial jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and dominated possession. But this year, Uni outshot the Chargers 8-5 in the first 40 minutes.

When action resumed, the teams played back and forth until 13 minutes into the second half. At that point, the Illineks moved the ball into the left corner of Centennial's end of the field. Then, junior Joy Shapley connected with Belmont on a crossing pass as the sophomore maneuvered just inside the penalty box, to the left of the goal, and Belmont's shot found the back corner of the goal to tie the game.

In response the Chargers turned up the intensity, with their forwards taking the action to Pfander and forcing the keeper to make several saves at pointblank range.

Uni's midfielders then shifted the momentum away from Centennial, moving the ball upfield. Illinek head coach Philip Anders describes what happened next:

"In a fabulous display of attacking soccer, Uni players moved the ball back and forth in front of the Centennial defense, at a quick pace, which finished with a beautiful combination play between left forward Aran Yoo and center midfielder Isaure Hostetter, before Yoo put the ball in the back of the net to seal the win with less than five minutes left to play."

Yoo, recently named the most valuable player on the Uni girls basketball team, is in her first year of playing soccer for the Illineks. Her twin sister, Suran, led the team in scoring two years ago and was second last season behind Belmont.

With the victory, Uni is 1-0 overall, 0-0 in the East Central Illinois Conference. Last year Uni finished 7-8-2, 4-0-1.

"The girls did well to be persistent, and not give up, after going down 0-1 in the first half," Anders said. "We pressured the ball well, as a team, all over the field. Even better in the second half. Sarah Pfander was great in goal, and the two goals we scored were textbook examples of attacking soccer."

The Illineks finished with 14 shots on goal, the same as Centennial. Pfander, a converted midfielder, had one more save than the Chargers' Micaela McLennand, who recorded 12.

Although this is Pfander's first season as varsity keeper, she did play the position as a freshman on the JV team. She moved to the field for her sophomore and junior seasons as a varsity starter.

In JV action, Uni and Centennial tied 0-0. Junior goalkeepers Sheri Grill and Lor Sligar recorded the shutout. Grill played in the first half and Sligar in the second. The Uni JV is 0-0-1.

Next up: The Illineks will play another Champaign rival, St. Thomas More, on Thursday. The game will be played at the DCR Soccer Complex, corner of Florida and Lincoln avenues, Urbana.

2008 SEASON AT A GLANCE

GIRLS VARSITY SOCCER: 1-0 overall, 0-0 East Central Illinois Conference
(home matches listed in bold)

March 25: at Centennial, W 2-1

• Story: Believe it! Uni begins season with upset of Centennial varsity
• Halftime: Centennial 1, Uni 0
• Uni goals: Erika Belmont (53rd minute), Joy Shapley assist; Aran Yoo (75th minute), Isaure Hostetter assist
• Uni saves: Sarah Pfander 13 (4, 9)
• Shots on goal: Uni 14 (8, 6); Centennial 14 (5, 9)
• JV result: Uni 0, Centennial 0
• JV Uni goals: None
• JV Uni saves: Sheri Grill 2; Lor Sligar 4
• JV shots on goal: Uni 4 (1, 3); Centennial 6 (2, 4)
• Game stats: Gargoyle scoreboard

March 27: St. Thomas More

April 1: at Urbana

April 3: Monticello

April 8: Charleston

April 10: at Macon Meridian

April 12: at Normal Calvary Baptist *

April 15: Decatur St. Teresa

April 17: at Decatur Christian *

April 22: Mahomet-Seymour

April 24: at Mattoon

April 26: St. Thomas More

April 29: Danville

May 1: at Warrensburg-Latham

May 3: Judah Christian *

May 5: Decatur Lutheran *

May 7: Champaign Central

May 9: IHSA Class A Sectionals TBA

* East Central Illinois Conference opponent

TEAM ROSTER

VARSITY PLAYERS

• 2 Yoo, Suran 12th
• 3 Wong, Michelle 10th
• 4 Pfander, Sarah 12th
• 5 Machesky, Annie 11th
• 6 Freeland, Chelsea 12th
• 8 Chu, Emily 12th
• 9 Esbenshade, Shara 12th
• 10 Yoo, Aran 12th
• 11 Grill, Sheri 11th
• 12 Belmont, Erika 10th
• 13 Stark, Jessica 12th
• 14 Sullivan, Jessica 11th
• 15 Buzard, Katherine 10th
• 17 Levin, Maddy 11th
• 19 Schein, Zoë 12th
• 20 Hostetter, Isaure 10th
• 21 Shapley, Joy 11th
• 22 Hwu, Amanda 9th
• 23 Best, Sian 10th
• 27 Russell, Elizabeth 10th

JUNIOR VARSITY PLAYERS

• 1 Sligar, Lor 11th
• 7 Iyer, Marika 12th
• 11 Gratton, Cristina 9th
• 12 Smith, Lily 9th
• 13 Salehi, Katayun 9th
• 14 Engles, Alexx 10th
• 15 Maturi, Revathi 9th
• 16 Cooke, Jenny 9th
• 16 Nakamura, Natsuki 11th
• 17 Yannelis, Eleni 9th
• 24 Peregrine, Beth 12th
• 25 Pittenger, Larissa 12th
• 28 Coverdill, Emma 9th
• 29 Vazquez, Isabel 10th