DeKALB – NIU women’s soccer (5-6-3, 3-3-1 MAC) were out-shot 11-6 as they fell to the University at Buffalo Bulls (6-3-5, 3-2-2 MAC) by a score of 2-0. Thursday’s loss marked the end of the Huskies’ three-game win streak.
NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill shared thoughts on the lopsided performance.
“The shots will tell you one thing, but I actually thought it was a fairly even game,” O’Neill said. “If you look at the other stats, 63% possession for us to 37%. So, we controlled the game and they played in transition.”
The Huskies had two breakaway opportunities halted by offsides calls and failed to score on four corner kick chances.
NIU also had 12 penalties to the Bulls’ 19.
The most costly foul came from NIU redshirt senior goalkeeper Sadie McGill, which led to a penalty kick goal by Buffalo sophomore midfielder Katie Krohn in the 10th minute.
McGill expressed disagreement with the call that led to the opening goal of the game.
“From what I can tell from being in the play, she tripped over my arm,” McGill said. “I guess getting the ball first doesn’t really matter.”
O’Neill also addressed the controversial penalty call.
“The referee has decided to sway with the attacker when 99% of the time they go with the goalkeeper,” O’Neill said. “We feel as though we have a harsh decision, but it’s been made and they (Buffalo) capitalized on it.”
The Bulls added another goal in the 60th minute as they maintained a shutout. This marks the first scoreless performance by the Huskies since Sept. 21.
Thursday’s defeat pulls the Huskies below .500 and into seventh place in the MAC standings.
The Huskies look to bounce back on the road against the Kent State Golden Flashes (7-4-2, 4-2 MAC) on Sunday.
The match will be played at noon Sunday at Dix Stadium in Kent, Ohio. The game will be streamed on BoxCast, and live stats will be available via SideArm Stats.
