DeKALB, Ill. – Sophomore Taylor Sarver (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) scored in the second minute of play to give Northern Illinois University (1-1-1) women's soccer a 1-0 win against Western Illinois University (1-2) Sunday afternoon.

Junior Sammy O'Brien (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) had the assist on Sarver's second goal of the season. O'Brien passed to Sarver inside the six-yard line for a quick kick, too fast for the Leatherneck goalkeeper Lexi Harris to have a chance making the save.

"Taylor is a handful up top," said Head Coach John Ross of Sarver's goal sequence. "She creates a lot for herself, but Sammy had great composure in the box to get it back to her and there were a lot of other pieces. Good service in, good challenge and just being hungry in front of the goal. That's what we need from everybody as a team and Taylor's the one that's finishing right now."

Junior goalkeeper Amy Annala (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) recorded her seventh career shutout with three saves on the day. The Huskies' defense aided Annala in keeping the Leathernecks away from goal with their exceptional speed and quick feet, clearing chances around the final third.

The Huskies stalled the Leathernecks in the first half of the match allowing only one shot on goal by keeping WIU in the midfield. They allowed two shots on goal in the second half, but Annala had the coverage.

NIU recorded six shots from four Huskies. Sarver struck two shots including her goal, junior Allie Ingham (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) had two shots, sophomore Emilie Furuseth Haugan (Hlavstad, Norway/National Sports Academy) had one and redshirt sophomore Cassidy Page (Germantown, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) recorded one.

"I'm very happy with our fight," said Ross. "Defensively we did a good job. We had a little more possession than we had in the past, so that definitely helped. It would have been nice to get a second goal but Western is a fighting team as well, so it was a good challenge for us. We're happy with the way the result came out."

NIU will host another home match Friday, Sept. 2 at NIU Soccer Complex against Baylor University. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central.