NORMAL, Ill. – Mckenna Campbell-Turkalj (Kitchener, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) gave the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team an early lead, but a pair of second half goals helped lift Illinois State to a 2-1 victory over the Huskies on Wednesday night (Aug. 12) in the season opener for both teams.
"Illinois State is extremely direct and good at it," said NIU head coach
Michael O'Neill. "It was a very transitional game, not many passes completed in the middle of the park. It was end-to-end for periods and they had us pinned in for periods, so it was a really good test for us."
"The early goal was a reward for quite a positive start to the game, we had some momentum in that first half and, obviously, we were the ones to strike in the first half. Second half, we knew they would come out and try to attack us, unfortunately we weren't as prepared for some of their wide play. The (center forwards) ran out into the wide channels and really dragged our center backs out. We had a 20-minute period where we were a little bit 'deer in the headlights' and unfortunately it cost us a couple goals."
The Huskies had the first chance of the contest within the opening minute as Campbell-Turkalj collected the ball just inside the box off a throw-in and forced an early save from Illinois State goalkeeper Madi Valenti.
On the quarter-hour mark,
Monica Correa (Des Plaines, Ill./Saint Viator) earned NIU a free kick about 30 yards from goal and Campbell-Turkalj's effort was scooped up by Valenti.
Campbell-Turkalj opened the scoring just two minutes later as
Abby Foulk (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) did well down the right wing to create space for a cross that found Campbell-Turkalj. A left-footed effort from Campbell-Turkalj near the penalty spot beat an outstretched Valenti to give the visitors an early lead.
In the 28th minute, Sammi Cenek clipped a ball from just inside the box on the right side that skimmed off the top of the crossbar before bouncing harmlessly out of play.
The Redbirds held a 10-3 advantage in shots in the opening 45 minutes, but NIU limited most of those chances to long range, off-target efforts as NIU freshman goalkeeper
Alexandra Devory (Ruckersville, Va./William Monroe) needed to make just two saves in the first half.
In the 63rd minute, Illinois State pulled level as Rylann Law dribbled just inside the box on the left side before lofting a shot over an outstretched Devory and into the far corner to tie the match, 1-1.
Four minutes later, the Redbirds went in front through Eve Gricius. Illinois State floated a cross to the back post where Grace Petrie headed it back across goal. Gricius then found the corner of the net just past Devory to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Devory made an outstanding save just two minutes later as Erika Wells got in behind the Huskie defense, but the NIU freshman goalkeeper made herself big to make the stop.
The Huskies created a chance with just under a quarter-hour to play as
Zoe Mclauchlan (Gatineau, Quebec/Collège Nouvelles Frontières) played a ball into the run of
Dahlia Rodriguez (Round Lake, Ill./Grayslake Central) who found
Lola Zarate (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) with space just inside the box. Zarate's shot sailed high.
In the 82nd minute, Correa nearly levelled for NIU as Foulk clipped a cross to the back post, over the head of Valenti, and onto the head of Correa who just couldn't redirect her header on target.
"I was really proud of the team responding the way they did," said O'Neill. "Showing some fight in that last 20 minutes, putting some pressure on Illinois State and creating some good chances. All in all, a really valuable learning experience."
Devory finished with six saves in her first collegiate game, Valenti was credited with four saves for Illinois State.
NIU will take on another in-state foe on Sunday, Aug. 16, when the Huskies travel to DePaul. Kickoff against the Blue Demons is scheduled for 4 p.m. NIU then hosts Northern Iowa in its home opener on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 2 p.m.
