Buffalo, N.Y. – The NIU women's team (5-3-1, 2-0 MAC) won their second-straight match to start their conference schedule by a final of 2-0 over Buffalo (3-5-1, 1-1 MAC). The Huskies got their fourth shutout of the 2017 season as goalkeeper Amy Annala made eight saves to pass the 300-mark to become the third women's soccer keeper to reach that plateau.
 
"Amy showed today what she has done for the past four years," Head Coach John Ross said. "She just so happened to also get her 300^th save today."
 
The game was scoreless headed into halftime but the Huskies wasted little time in the second half to get on the board as Taylor Sarver (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) in the 48^th minute as she beat the Buffalo keeper after a nice pass from Kelsey Chope (San Jose, Calif./Leland). In the 53^rd minute NIU earned a penalty kick after a Buffalo foul and Natalie Yass (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West) buried it to double the NIU lead.
 
NIU continues to rotate subs into their lineup and it paid off today with temperatures reaching 90 during the match. In an unseasonably and an uncomfortably warm day in Buffalo, the Huskies played 18 outfield players with minutes spread out as the central defenders in Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) and Delaney Loprieno being the only players to be on the field for a full 90 minutes.
 
"It was a test of our will today to play a very strong team and having to deal with extreme heat," Ross said. "I'm proud of a very hard earned six points on the road."
 
The Huskies will play their next three MAC matches at home as they look for their first win of 2017 at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. NIU will welcome Toledo, Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio) to DeKalb over the next couple of weeks before heading back out on the road.