ST. PAUL, Minn. – Morgan Lucich (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Trabuco Hills) made a pair of saves while picking up her second consecutive shutout as the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against St. Thomas on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 21) at South Field.
"Frustrated with the result for sure," said NIU head coach
Michael O'Neill. "Start with the positives. Defensively, very good. We were organized, worked really hard and were connected against a unique setup that (St. Thomas) had. Defensively, from goalkeeper all the way to forwards, and the subs that came on, I thought we were really good.
"But for all the dominance, territory and possession, we lacked the cutting edge in the final third. We created some good chances, especially in the first half, we got into some good areas in the second half but just lacked that cutting edge."
NIU's first look at goal came in the seventh minute as
Julianna Hill's (Burlington, Iowa/West Burlington) shot was off target.
Lucich was called into action for the first time in the 15th minute, stopping a low shot from Tatum Trettel. Moments later,
Alyssa Stephenson (Oakville, Ontario/St. Ignatius of Loyola) had a shot that required a stop from St. Thomas goalkeeper Olivia Rowe.
Late in the first half, Lucich denied a chance by Molly Armstrong from just outside the box as the contest went into the intermission scoreless.
The second half featured even fewer chances than the first as the Huskies and Tommies combined for just one shot attempt in the opening 25 minutes of the second period.
In the 79th minute, Stephenson had a chance to open the scoring for NIU from just outside the six-yard box, but her attempt was saved by Rowe.
NIU had a 7-0 advantage in shots in the second half, and 15-5 in the contest, but were unable to break the deadlock as the Huskies and Tommies shared the points. Rowe finished with three saves in goal for the hosts as both teams moved to 1-1-1 on the season.
The Huskies will be back in action on Sunday, Aug. 24, when they take on Minnesota. Game time against the Golden Gophers is scheduled for 1 p.m.
