TOLEDO, Ohio – Jordin Kadiri (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) scored in the 38th minute to help give the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team a 1-1 draw on Thursday afternoon (Sept. 18) at Paul Hotmer Field. The Rockets opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Kadiri's strike seven minutes before halftime earned the Huskies a share of the points.

"Fair play to the group, they came out ready to go," said NIU head coach Michael O'Neill. "We conceded a goal against the run of play off a set piece, which is unfortunate. But for the remainder of the game we were on the front-foot, had some really good chances and put ourselves in good positions, we just didn't quite get that second goal to win the game. 

"From my standpoint, if we play like that, and the intensity is where it was today, we'll put ourselves in position to win games. Proud of the group for their response (to Sunday) and hopeful that they can continue to bring that every single day."

Alyssa Stephenson (Oakville, Ontario/St. Ignatius of Loyola) had the first look at goal for either team as her shot in the fourth minute was stopped by Toledo goalkeeper Agnes Stenlund. 

Toledo opened the scoring eight minutes later as Gabby Anulare converted from near the top of the six-yard box to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead. 

Zoe Mclauchlan (Gatineau, Quebec/Collège Nouvelles Frontières) had a chance saved by Stenlund in the 24th minute and a minute later Katie Bennett's (Liverpool, England/Carmel Sixth Form) effort from distance was also stopped by the Rocket goalkeeper. 

In the 38th minute, Kadiri made an instant impact off the bench as she equalized for the Huskies with her first collegiate goal just a minute after entering the contest. Mckayla Harsley (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and Sarah Roy (Saint-Julie, Quebec/College de Montreal) combined to begin the play before Isabel Struble (Mount Pleasant, Mich./Mount Pleasant) got on the end of Roy's cross to put it in an area where Kadiri could tap home from close range for the tying goal. 

"The bench was great today," said O'Neill. "They were ready to go; they got us back in the game just before halftime. Jordin gets the plaudits in terms of the goal scorer, but they allowed us to maintain what we had created from a momentum standpoint. Happy for Jordin to get her first collegiate goal. She was part of a team dynamic that, from the players that started to the players that came on, kept the momentum high and helped us play near enough 90 minutes of high-level soccer where we need it to be."

NIU's first chance of the second half came six minutes after the break as Kelsi McLaughlin (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) had a shot that was stopped by Stenlund.

Neither team recorded a shot on target over the next half-hour until Roy saw her 82nd minute shot stopped by Stenlund as the Huskies and Rockets were forced to share the points. The Huskies allowed just two total shots on target in the 90 minutes.

"The backlin, Sophia (White) and Aubrey (Robertson) were tremendous," said O'Neill. "Jordan Saddler, Elle Wainscott, a freshman who stepped up. The two that came off the bench, Mckayla (Harsley) and Lyndsey (Miller), did really, really well. Then Lauren Mrugala, who plays the six (defensive midfield), doesn't really get the plaudits that defenders or forwards get, but Lauren was fantastic defensively for us and picked up so many second balls. Definitely something to build on from that display."

NIU will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 25, when the Huskies host Akron. Game time against the Rockets is slated for 7 p.m.