DEKALB, Ill. – A first half goal from
Claudia Muessig (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) and a second half tally by
Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) lifted the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Miami on Thursday night (Oct. 21) at the NIU Soccer Complex.
Huskie goalkeeper
Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) made nine saves as NIU improved to 5-10-2 on the season, 2-5-2 in Mid-American Conference play. Miami falls to 7-7-3, 4-5 in the league.
"Our collective execution of the game plan was the biggest factor," said NIU head coach
Julie Colhoff. "We have talked a lot about consistency, or lack thereof, in certain moments and I left like in this game people were dependable for what we needed from them. Whether they were on the field or on the bench, and I think that was the difference maker.
"When our entire team is fired up from the sideline, it translates onto the pitch for us, we are definitely a group that feeds off of each other's energy and passion."
Miami had the first shot on target in the sixth minute as Makenna Morrison spun into space and fired a shot from distance that was easily held by Lentz.
The Huskies opened the scoring in the 18th minute as Muessig netted direct from a corner kick. Muessig's corner slipped just inside the near post past Miami goalkeeper Izzie Vaccari to give NIU the one-goal lead.
Three minutes after the goal, Lentz made a save on a shot from Kennedy Gray that short hopped just in front of the NIU goalkeeper.
Just before halftime, Lentz caught another harmless shot from distance by Kyleigh von Klahr as NIU took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Near the hour mark, Miami won a free kick left of the NIU goal and from the ensuing free kick, Julia Hoffman flicked a header toward goal that was held by Lentz. Two minutes later, Morrison had an overhead kick from just inside the box that was headed for the corner of the goal, but Lentz got across to push it away.
Hoppe doubled the NIU lead from a corner in the 71st minute. The Huskie corner kick was swung toward the top of the box where
Abby McHugh (Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda) flicked it toward Hoppe whose shot from about 10 yards took a deflection on its way to goal and beat Miami goalkeeper Emily Boutin to put the Huskies in front by a pair.
Six minutes later, Miami pulled a goal back. The RedHawks won a free kick in the NIU half and sent it into the box where it was flicked on toward goal. The NIU defense retreated to the goal line and the ball was headed back away, only to deflect back into the net off a second Huskie defender and into the next to halve the NIU advantage.
After the RedHawks got back within a goal, Lentz had two more stops to make, including one on a shot from near the top of the box by Kristina DeMarco in the 84th minute, as the Huskies picked up the victory in their final home game of the season.
NIU will return to action on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 24, when the Huskies travel to Ball State. Kickoff against the Cardinals is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.
