DEKALB, Ill. – Freshman Emma Cramblett (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) scored her first career goal but the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team fell, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 31) in wintery conditions at the NIU Soccer Complex. 

"In the first half we didn't come out and show what we were capable of, but the thing that I was pleased to see was in the second half the team came out with a little more fight," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "(Western Michigan) scored a goal in the second half as well but then you saw us come back and find the back of the net, which was a good showcase of the spirit of not giving up, even if it is the last game, there still was that fight."

Western Michigan (8-9-1, 6-4-1 MAC) nearly opened the scoring in the 11th minute as Kai Sugiyama fired a shot off the crossbar. 

A couple of excellent saves from NIU sophomore goalkeeper Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) kept the match scoreless until the Broncos made a breakthrough in the 34th minute. Suzuna Shibukawa got on the end of a low cross from Bailey Korhorn and finished past Lentz to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. 

In the 37th minute, Western Michigan hot the woodwork again as Morgan Otteson fired a shot off the post. Five minutes later, Shibukawa rang the crossbar as the Broncos continued to push forward but were unable to add to their 1-0 lead before halftime. 

NIU (2-14-2, 0-10-1 MAC) had a handful of chances early in the second half, including a shot from senior Abby Gregg (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) that forced a save from Western Michigan goalkeeper Maggie Rogers in the 62nd minute. 

The Broncos doubled their lead in the 69th minute as Grace Labadie's corner kick was headed past Lentz by Korhorn to give WMU a 2-0 lead. 

NIU responded and halved the Western Michigan lead in the 81st minute. The Huskies won a free kick just inside the Western Michigan half and senior Jennie Nailor (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) whipped in an excellent free kick toward the penalty spot where Cramblett was able to rise the highest and head it past Rogers, cutting the Bronco lead to 2-1. 

The Huskies pushed for an equalizer in the final nine minutes but were unable to create another scoring opportunity as the Broncos claimed the one-goal victory. 

Lentz finished the contest with five saves for the Huskies, Rogers made one stop for WMU. 

Thursday's result closes the season for NIU; Western Michigan will advance to the MAC Tournament beginning on Sunday, November 3.