DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's soccer team travels to Kent State on Thursday, Oct. 7 before coming home to host Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 10. Thursday's matchup with the Golden Flashes is slated for 6 p.m. CT while Sunday's contest with the Bobcats is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Sunday's match will be NIU's Breast Cancer Awareness game, with free t-shirts being provided to fans while supplies last.
NIU is coming off a pair of narrow one-goal setback last weekend as the Huskies fell to Central Michigan, 1-0 in overtime, and Eastern Michigan, 2-1.
Julia Neary (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) scored her second goal of the season against the Eagles, Neary is tied with
Amanda Czerniak (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) and
Claudia Muessig (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) for second on the team in scoring.
Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) is second in the Mid-American Conference in both goals, with six, and points, with 14. NIU goalkeeper
Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas/North Texas) leads the conference in both saves, 67, and saves per game, 6.09.
Kent State brings a 6-4-1 overall mark into the weekend, including a 2-1-1 record in conference play. The Golden Flashes suffered their lone league loss last time out, falling to Bowling Green, 3-2. Cameron Shedenhelm has scored five goals with three assists to lead the way offensively for Kent State. Sarah Melen has played all 11 matches in goal, posting a 1.54 goals against average and a .707 save percentage.
Ohio is currently unbeaten in MAC play with a 3-0-1 conference mark, 7-3-1- overall, and hosts Western Michigan on Thursday before traveling to DeKalb. Nine different players have scored at least one goal for the Bobcats, led by three from Shae Robertson. Sam Wexell has played every minute for Ohio in goal and has a 0.80 goals against average and a .804 save percentage, third-best in the MAC.
This weekend's meetings with Kent State and Ohio are the first since 2019 as the MAC played a division only schedule a year ago.
Next week, NIU will return to the State of Ohio when they travel to Akron on Thursday, Oct. 14, before hosting Buffalo on Sunday, Oct. 17.
