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1
Winner Baylor BU (4-1)
0
NIU NIU (1-2-1)
Winner
Baylor BU
(4-1)
1
Final
0
NIU NIU
(1-2-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Baylor BU 0 1 1
NIU NIU 0 0 0

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

Huskie Defense Battles with Baylor but Falls After Late Goal

88th minute goal by Bears ends scoreless deadlock

DeKALB – The NIU defense held strong versus Baylor Friday night at NIU Soccer Complex, holding the Bears (4-1) scoreless for 87 minutes. However, Baylor's Julie James header from six yards out on a cross from Lauren Piercy broke the scoreless deadlock and prevented overtime as the Huskies (1-2-1) fell, 1-0.

Junior Amy Annala (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) totaled four saves in the contest and surrendered her first goal of the season, ending her season-opening shutout streak at 267:23.

The NIU defense played stingy and compact, only allowing the Bears to seven shots in the contest while also drawing Baylor offsides twice

Both teams entered the halftime locker room scoreless as Annala made two saves in the first half, including her first just 30 seconds into the match.

Annala stopped two more shots, both in the first six minutes of the second half, to round out her night. Baylor broke though in the 88th minute as James headed from the ball inside the six-yard box past NIU's stellar goalkeeper.

Despite the loss, Head Coach John Ross was pleased with his team's performance.

"Very happy and proud of our team. Baylor is a very good team. They're physical, aggressive, and I feel that we matched them tonight in those categories. We were able to really do what we wanted to do from the get go this week. We didn't get the result we wanted, but you also have to give them credit. That was a great finish that (Julie James) had. The way our team fought and the way our team got better today is the thing we're really looking at today.

"Baylor puts you under a lot of pressure defensively. They're going to test the back line every opportunity they get, and our back line was up to the challenge all night," Ross continued. "From there, the rest of our team got a lot of confidence, and we started to get a little bit of the ball at times. We had a couple opportunities where we could have been a little sharper in the attacking end, but that will come."

The Huskies will hit the road for Tuscon, Ariz., next weekend, taking on Arizona and Arizona State in the Cats Classic.
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