CHARLESTON, Ill. – Senior Kelsey Chope (San Jose, Calif./Leland) scored in the 81st minute as the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team opened its exhibition slate with a 1-1 draw at Eastern Illinois on Friday afternoon (Aug. 16).

"This was a good opportunity to see where we are at as a team," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "It was good to see some of our players who were injured last season back on the field and it was also nice to get a look at our newcomers and how they reacted to their first college game."

Just before the half-hour mark, NIU sophomore goalkeeper Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) stopped a penalty kick to keep the match level; Lentz finished with four saves in the contest. Eastern Illinois took a 1-0 lead into the intermission courtesy of a 38th minute goal by Lexi Ketterhagen.

NIU leveled the contest with just less than 10 minutes remaining as sophomore Trudy Quidzinski (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) fed the ball to Chope who floated a shot over the head of EIU goalkeeper Daniela Bermeo and into the net as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

"It is always a positive, even in an exhibition, to see your team have the character and fight to score late goals," Colhoff said of the 81st minute equalizer. "That is a positive trait for any team and definitely something we can take from today's game."

NIU will conclude its 2019 exhibition slate on Sunday afternoon, August 18, as the Huskies host Chicago State at 5 p.m., at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Admission to all Huskie soccer games is free of charge.