With the two most publicized fall sports, football and volleyball, traveling this weekend, Illinois soccer stars will have a chance to light up their home field.

The Illini will host the Illinois Invitational at Illinois Soccer Stadium this weekend.

The 2-2 squad takes on Evansville tonight at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 3:00 p.m., the Illini will butt heads with in-state rival Illinois State. 

 Evansville brings a 0-2-1 record to Champaign under the leadership of second-year coach Ron Raab, who led them to a 6-13-1 mark last season. The Purple Aces have had a tough time finding the back of the net, with junior midfielder Tami Callison scoring the only Evansville goal so far in 2003.

 Despite Evansville's losses, goalkeeper Liz Haines remains solid, as the South Bend, Ind., junior has stopped 19 shots with a 1.24 goals-against average. 

"Our goal for every single game this year is defense," co-captain Meghan Kolze said. "We focus a lot on team defense, and if we play well with defense, we have been known to do well with offense. We should be able to create chances with our defense."

Illinois State (2-0-1) continues to be dynamic on defense. The Redbirds are yet to give up a goal in wins over UW-Green Bay and Eastern Illinois, and their tie with Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

"Illinois State is always a tough game because it is an in-state rival," co-captain Kelly Walker said. "You always want to come out on top against ISU."

 Illinois State senior goalkeeper Allison Farrington tallied eight saves in recording two of the shutouts, while freshman Andrea Shaw started her career on the right foot in Normal, Ill., collecting the other shutout. Redbird junior Michelle Brumbaugh scored two of the first three goals to lead the offensive attack while senior Diana Puckett scored the other.

 The Illini are familiar with Illinois State and Evansville; their 4-2-1 mark against the Missouri Valley Conference has been tallied entirely against those two schools. 

The Illini are 3-1-1 against the Redbirds, splitting the team's first two meetings with the Purple Aces. Illinois beat Evansville 1-0 in an exhibition game in 2002, while tying ISU 1-1 in Redbird territory in the regular season.

 "We've got a regional showdown, the Big Ten against the MVC, and the interstate rivalry with ISU," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "The important thing is to show progress from our last home weekend." 

This weekend's event will be a welcome return home for Rayfield's club after splitting a pair of games in Southeastern Conference territory last weekend. The Illini beat Georgia 2-1 in front of 3,300 Bulldog fans in Athens last Friday on goals from Kolze and Tiffani Walker. 

 Illinois was defeated 2-1 by Auburn two days later, falling to the country's No.11 in overtime.

 "I think we are all very excited to be back on our home turf," Kolze said. "We are looking forward to playing two very competitive teams and hopefully picking up two wins, especially going into the Big Ten season next weekend."

— Lisa Koulias contributed to this story.