Box Score

DeKALB, Ill. - In a thrilling conclusion to the Mid-American Conference season, the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team played to a 2-2 tie against Western Michigan on Thursday afternoon at the NIU Soccer Complex in DeKalb, Ill.

With the tie on Thursday against the Broncos (11-3-4, 8-1-2 MAC), the Huskies (3-12-3, 2-6-3 MAC) finished with nine points in conference play and in a four-way tie for the final spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament. Due to varying interpretations of the MAC's tiebreakers, NIU will not learn its fate until Friday morning.

If the Huskies are awarded the eighth seed as winners of the tiebreaker, the NIU women's soccer team would face Ball State on Sunday afternoon in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals.

After a back-and-forth match that featured a last-minute tying goal by Western Michigan, NIU head coach John Ross applauded his team's effort in what was the final home match for the Huskie seniors.

"We responded really well to falling behind early and had a chance to win," Ross said. "It was a great game against a very talented team. I was especially proud of the performance and leadership shown by our seniors in their last game on our field, and I'm very proud of everything they've done and what they've given to the program in their time here."

It took just 13 minutes for Western Michigan, a team that entered the match on a five-game winning streak, to take the lead as Emma Kahn fired in a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.

However, the Huskies settled and found an equalizer in the 36th minute when Kate Wirthlin (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) flicked on a Lauren Gierman (Prospect Heights, Ill./John Hersey) free kick to level the score. NIU's second goal was déjà vu as Gierman swung in another fantastic free kick, which Jess Wooldridge (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana) bravely headed in to the net in the 70th minute. Thursday marked the first goals of the season for both Wirthin and Wooldridge, while Gierman tallied her second and third assists of the year.

It appeared the Huskies would hold out for the victory that would've ensured qualification to the MAC Tournament, but Western Michigan's persistent pressing eventually led to the tying goal with 46 seconds remaining in the game by Gina Maddi.

Two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods were then played as neither team could find a decisive goal despite their best efforts.

Stay tuned on Friday for news of whether the NIU women's soccer team will advance to the MAC Tournament to face No. 1 seed Ball State on Sunday in Muncie, Ind.

--NIU--