MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Alexandra Devory (Ruckersville, Va./William Monroe) made eight saves as the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against Marquette on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 30) at Valley Fields.
"It was a real battle, a real dog fight of a game in tough conditions with the wind swirling," said NIU head coach
Michael O'Neill. "Super proud of the work, the defensive effort, from Alex (Devory), who gets her first 90-minute shutout, the backline,
Lauren Mrugala was unbelievable for us, and the whole team, the midfielders and the forwards worked hard. We had to be really gritty today, especially after conceding four goals on Thursday, we wanted to see a bit of a response, some toughness today and I thought we showed that."
First look at goal in the contest came for Marquette (3-0-3) in the fifth minute for Kiley McMinn's effort from outside the box was comfortably held by Devory.
In the 25th minute,
Sarah Roy (Saint-Julie, Quebec/College de Montreal) cut inside onto her right foot from just over 20 yards before firing a shot just wide of the Marquette goal.
Devory made an excellent save just before the half-hour mark as Emily Fix collected a pass for the Golden Eagles near the penalty spot. Her shot was gathered by the Huskie goalkeeper moving to her left.
Mya Newcombe (Carlisle, Ontario/Waterdown District) had a terrific chance for the Huskies in the 38th minute as
Jordin Kadiri (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) played the ball into Newcombe's run and her shot from about 15 yards was tipped over the crossbar by Marquette goalkeeper Mia Hurd to take the half into halftime scoreless.
On the hour mark,
Monica Correa (Des Plaines, Ill./Saint Viator) latched onto a ball just outside the Marquette box and shrugged off a Marquette defender before sending a shot high over the Golden Eagle goal.
In the 84th minute, Olivia Hernandez for Marquette had a pair of shots blocked from just inside the box before a third attempt was stopped by Devory.
NIU (1-2-2) earned a free kick in the final minute of the contest and
Mckenna Campbell-Turkalj (Kitchener, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) fired a shot on target, but Hurd made the stop as the contest ended in a scoreless draw.
The Huskies will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 10, when they host Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. at the NIU Soccer Complex.
