Oct. 22, 2010
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill.- The Northern Illinois women's soccer team defeated the Miami RedHawks, 2-1, Friday afternoon as Shelbi Johnson and Frances Boukidis scored two early goals to push the Huskies past the Mid-American Conference East leaders at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. With the win the Huskies (8-7-1, 4-4-1 MAC) improved their home record to 6-1-1, remaining undefeated in DeKalb since the start of conference play.
Recognizing the strength of the Huskies MAC East foes, head Northern Illinois women's soccer coach Carrie Barker is impressed with how the Huskies performed against a tough team.
"We came out strong and scored two great goals," said Barker. "I'm proud of how we fought today and found a way to win the game against a strong program."
The Huskies got on the board early when Boukidis scored in just the third minute, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead. The play commenced when Shelbi Johnson fired a cornerkick into the box at the 1:53 mark. Kelsey Passaglia received the ball in the box and sent it to Kylie Revelle who fired off a quick shot. Boukidis received the ball off the rebound from the Miami goalkeeper's save, and sent the ball into the back of the RedHawks net to the put the Huskies up 1-0.
Just five minutes later the Huskies grabbed a 2-0 advantage over the RedHawks when Johnson scored off a cornerkick in the 8th minute. Johnson took the corner and fired the ball into the near upper right of the net, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead. The goal was Johnson third of the season.
Throughout the remainder of the first half the Huskies dominated play. NIU tallied nine shots, eight on goal, and five cornerkicks in the half. The Huskies held their opponents to eight shots, three on goal, and three corners, while forcing Miami goalkeeper Kris Gasparovic to make six saves in the half.
In the second half of play, the Huskies warded off a strong offensive attack from the RedHawks. Despite the increased offensive pressure from Miami, an unwavering Huskie defense overpowered the RedHawks' second-half effort. The Huskies held their opponents scoreless through most of the contest, letting up just one goal on a penalty kick in the 68th minute.
The RedHawks scored their lone goal of the contest when a foul in the box allowed Miami's Rachel Byron to take a penalty kick. Byron snuck the ball past Northern Illinois goalkeeper Amy Carr, to bring the game to 2-1. Carr totaled eight saves in the match to preserve the Huskie win.
The win gives the Huskies 3-0-1 record at home since the start of MAC action, and pushes the Huskies to 4-4-1in overall conference play. Northern Illinois will close out its home schedule this Sunday when the Huskies play host to Bowling Green at 1 p.m. at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
