DeKALB - NIU ended its preseason Monday afternoon, battling back in the second half against Iowa State with an equalizer in the opening minute of play after the halftime break. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, ushering in the start of the regular season for the Huskies.

Head Coach John Ross was pleased with the team's grit in the match and was happy to see that trend carry over from NIU's first exhibition versus Drake.

"I think these players came in this summer with that kind of fight and attitude. They decided last spring to bring it on a daily basis and that's carried onto the freshmen as well this preseason. It's made this team very competitive," said Ross.

ISU opened the scoring in the 20th minute as Brook Tasker took a corner kick and found Koree Willer in front of goal, chesting the goal into the net, despite a near defensive save at the goalmouth by an NIU defender.

The Huskies entered the halftime locker room down 1-0 to the Cyclones, however, NIU willed its way back into the game in the opening minute of the second half as Taylor Sarver (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) crossed a ball to freshmen Abby Gregg (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) and placed the ball in the back of the net to tie the match, 1-1, just 48 seconds into the second half.

NIU put three shots on frame in the match while Iowa State totaled just two, though the Cyclones hit the woodwork of the crossbar once in the second stanza.

"We were able to refocus in the second half and I'm just really happy with our ability to be switched on with what we wanted to do. We had more fight in us," said Ross. "We had a good fight in the first half but we picked that up in the second half but we did a good job of putting Iowa State on their heels in the second half."

The match signaled the end of the preseason for NIU and the start of the Huskies regular season where they'll host UIC on Friday at 7 p.m., under the lights at NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

"Our preseason was awesome this year and we're looking forward to UIC this Friday. Right now, though, we're going to work on our recovery and start our game plan. We're very excited to get the season started," said Ross.

Admission to all nine of the Huskies regular season matches is free to fans. All games at NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex will be streamed online as well on NIUHuskies.com.


MATCH SUMMARY
Iowa State vs. NIU (Exhibition)
Date: Aug 15, 2016  Attendance: 79
Weather: Mostly cloudy, muggy, 77 degrees

Goals by period1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Iowa State......  1  0 -  1
NIU.................  0  1 -  1

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.  19:30 ISU Willer,Koree (Tasker,Brooke) - Right on the end line, chested in
2.  45:48 NIU GREGG, Abby (SARVER, Taylor) - Cross from 4 at end line, tapped in from 3 yrds out

Shots: Iowa State 4, NIU 5
Saves: Iowa State 2 (Hendon,Lindsey 1; Reyes,Antonia 1), NIU 1 (ANNALA, Amy 1)