With a second-place finish in the Big Ten and a second-seed in the Big Ten tourney, the Illini head into the opening round of the tournament today in Madison, Wisc., against No. 7 seed Michigan State, hoping to add to a season that's already rewritten the Illini record books.

Illinois' 13-3-2 overall mark, 7-1-2 Big Ten mark, No.11 national ranking, No. 2 finish in the Big Ten and No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament are all program records. They have also met team goals of improved defense and a winning road record, ranking near the top of the Big Ten in both.

"Before the regular season started, we set a lot of goals," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "And we've accomplished a lot of them. From that perspective, we're really pleased with the way the regular season went."

Though the postseason is a sprint compared to the marathon of the regular season, Rayfield said the team's preparation won't change.

"It's the same approach, maybe even more so now, because it's one game at a time," Rayfield said. "If you don't take it one game at a time, you don't have another game."

As always, defense will be the focus for Illinois. They built a school-record five-game shutout streak and led the Big Ten in total shutouts and fewest goals allowed.

"If we don't give up a goal, they can't beat us, so we'll defend with the same kind of intensity as we have all season," Rayfield said. "And hopefully our offense has been holding out some goals for the postseason."

The offense has shown signs of being the threat needed for a postseason run. After some early-season struggles, the Illini offense finished second in the conference in shots per game and fifth in goals per game.

Despite the accolades and the No. 2 seed, Illinois is wary of an upset. Last year's No. 7 seed, Ohio State, won the 2002 tournament. Illinois pulled an upset of their own last year, beating No. 1 Penn State in the opener as the No. 8 seed.

"It's definitely on our mind that we could be upset at any time," senior defender Meghan Kolze said. "We're just going to have to come out and play up to our potential and focus on winning the game."

Kolze and the fellow seniors will be sure to pass that message along to the younger players.

"This is a whole new season for everyone," senior Tiffani Walker said. "There are some teams that didn't have as good of a regular season that are going to be coming into this and starting over. You can't take anybody lightly because the teams you might have killed in the regular season are coming to battle now."

Rayfield agreed. She noted that the Michigan State squad the Illini beat 1-0 on Sept. 21 in Champaign is not the same squad they will see in Madison today.

"We're probably a little bit better prepared, because we've seen them play, but the same is true for them," Rayfield said. "They're a different team, but we are too. Hopefully, we're a little bit better now."