DEKALB, Ill. – A second half goal from Bailey Korhorn was enough to lift Western Michigan past the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team, 1-0, on Thursday afternoon (March 4) in the season opener for both teams at the NIU Soccer Complex. 

"We started out strong in the first half and did really well at executing our game plan," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "Credit to Western (Michigan), they came out stronger in the second half and I don't think that we upped our energy in the second half, which bit us. I do think that it is a small step in the right direction, it was an improved performance on our last time out, so we will build on that going into Sunday."

It was a cagey start to the contest as NIU and Western Michigan combined for just one shot in the opening 20 minutes of the contest. The Huskies had the better of the play in the second half of the opening 45 minutes with freshman Abby Zipse (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) recorded the first shot for NIU in the 24th minute. 

Sophomore Nicole Barham (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) had a look at goal that went wide just past the half-hour mark, but the best chances to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes came late in the half. Zipse forced an outstanding save from Western Michigan goalkeeper Hannah Sargent in the 43rd minute on a shot heading toward the upper 90. In the final minute of the first half, Barham tested Sargent with a shot that required a save from the Bronco goalkeeper. 

NIU and Western Michigan evenly split possession in the first 45 minutes but the Huskies held a 4-1 edge in shots. 

After the intermission, Western Michigan had more of the chances. Bailey Korhorn had a trio of opportunities in the first 20 minutes after halftime that required saves from NIU goalkeeper Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook). 

With the game still looking for an opening goal, freshman Claudia Muessig (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) fired a shot from distance in the 72nd minute that had to be scrambled away by Sargent as the match remained deadlocked. 

Senior Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) sent a header wide in the 79th minute and Western Michigan broke the deadlock just three minutes later. Korhorn latched on to a deflected ball near the top of the box and tucked a shot just inside the left post past Lentz to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead. 

The goal would prove to be enough as Western Michigan saw out the final eight minutes of the contest to open the season with a road victory. 

NIU will finish the weekend on the road as the Huskies travel to Toledo on Sunday, March 7. Kickoff against the Rockets is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.