DEKALB, Ill. -- Akron scored a goal in the final minute of play as the Zips earned a 3-2 victory over the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at the NIU Soccer Complex. The Huskies evened the match in the 87th minute before the late goal gave Akron the victory. 

"I think we showed a lot of pride, a lot of fight, but we didn't execute very well," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "Our poor decision making on the ball and our lack of discipline in one-v-one defending really did us in at the end of the day."

NIU (1-9, 0-2 MAC) opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a goal by junior Kelsey Chope (San Jose, Calif./Leland). Freshman Kylee Hermeyer (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) played a ball from midfield in behind the Akron defense and into the path of Chope down the right side who cut toward goal and fired a shot from a tight angle that beat Akron goalkeeper Erin McKinney from a tight angle to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. 

Just past the half-hour mark, Akron nearly pulled even. The Zips had a corner kick that came out to Angela Boyce and her shot looked destined for goal before being cleared off the line by a Huskie defender as NIU took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

In the 50th minute, Shea O'Brien collected a second ball off a corner kick for Akron just outside the box and fired a shot that was held by Huskie senior goalkeeper MacKenzie Lee (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville). Just four minutes later, O'Brien found the back of the net as the Huskies were whistled for a handball in the box and O'Brien slotted home the penalty kick to even the match, 1-1. 

Three minutes after Akron equalized, NIU had a chance from the penalty spot and sophomore Haley Hoppe's (Austin, Texas/Rouse) attempt beat McKinney but came back off the post as the game remained tied. 

Akron (4-5-1, 1-1 MAC) took the lead in the 64th minute on a goal by Sydney Worthy. Cutting in from the right, Worthy's first shot was saved by Lee but the rebound came right back the Worthy and she beat the Huskie goalkeeper from about six yards to give the Zips a 2-1 lead. 

With just over seven minutes remaining, NIU earned a corner that was taken by freshman Trudy Quidzinski (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) and Hermeyer rose highest, heading it towards goal, only to see her header cleared off the line as Akron maintained its one-goal lead. 

The Huskies did level the match less than four minutes later as Akron was whistled for a foul and junior Kyleigh Dominguez (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) stepped up to bury the shot from 12 yards to tie the contest at two.

Akron came back and earned a corner that was cleared behind by the Huskies for a second corner. The second Zips corner kick from Eric Schrader eluded everyone in the box before hitting the back post. The ball bounced off the post and into a cluster of bodies in front of goal where it was stabbed home by Carly Pcholinsky for the Zips with just 52 seconds remaining to give Akron the 3-2 victory. 

Lee made five saves in goal for the Huskies while McKinney also made five stops for the Zips. 

Next weekend, the Huskies will hit the road for their first two conference road matches. NIU will visit Bowling Green on Friday, Sept. 28, before heading to Toledo on Sunday, Sept. 30.