NIU women’s soccer was held scoreless by the undefeated Indiana University Hoosiers after the Huskies failed to record a shot on goal in 90 minutes.
The Huskies mustered just 5 shots total in a road showdown in Bloomington, Indiana. Graduate forward Sahara Zingano was responsible for two shots, a team-high.
Even though no Huskie goals were scored, Zingano was pleased with the few opportunities that the team was able to generate against a tough opponent.
“There’s a lot of potential,” Zingano said. “If we’re preparing like that, and performing like that against a Big Ten team and creating those opportunities (to score), I think it’s honestly a great step in the direction we need to go for the MAC.”
HOOSIERS’ AGGRESSION SLOWED BY McGILL
The Hoosiers offense exploded for 9 shots on goal on 20 total shots, tallying their third game this season with 20-plus shot attempts.
Indiana graduate forward Paige Webber scored both goals for the Hoosiers. Her first goal came off of an assist from sophomore forward Marisa Grzesiak and her second was set up by junior midfielder Hope Paredes.
Despite the offensive onslaught from Indiana, redshirt senior goalkeeper Sadie McGill held the Hoosiers to 2 goals. McGill recorded 7 saves on 20 shots faced.
McGill praised her teammates for assisting in her strong performance in front of the net.
“20 shots sounds like a lot but … I have a strong backline in front of me,” McGill said. “For the better part of the game, we stayed very organized. It makes it a lot easier on the keeper.”
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
The lack of Huskie offense didn’t faze NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill, who was happy with the effort of his team despite the scoreless performance.
“Obviously the result was tough to take, but we definitely matched them for large periods of the games and maybe could have scored a couple goals ourselves,” O’Neill said. “Big Ten teams with Big Ten forwards will punish you, which they did, so that’s a credit to them. All in all, I thought we put a good account of ourselves, and I’m pleased with the girls’ effort and application.”
With the loss, NIU drops to 2-2-1 on the season and have yet to play a conference rival.
UP NEXT
The Huskies will continue their two-game road trip against the University of Southern Indiana at 1 p.m. Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.
