NIU women’s soccer (5-1-1) narrowly defeated the Illinois State University Redbirds (2-4-1) by a score of 1-0, winning a match against the Redbirds for the first time since 1998.
NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill reflected on the team’s effort in the win.
“I’m happy with the grit, the tenacity, the organization and the defense,” O’Neill said. “I thought we were really good in the second half, to limit them to 2 shots. They threw everything they had at us in the first half and were really quite difficult to play, credit to them. I thought we really were tough and organized. I’m really proud of the effort. Wasn’t the prettiest game, but the dub’s in the bank and a clean sheet in the bank, so we’ll move on to the next.”
The first half was locked at 0-0 until the final seconds, with sophomore forward Tyra King and junior forward Kelsi McLaughlin both creating opportunities for the Huskies.
In the 44th minute, senior forward Reegan Kingpavong sent the ball towards the net, just off target. King collected the ball and created two shots, both of which were saved by Redbird redshirt freshman goalkeeper Madi Valenti. Seven seconds before the buzzer sounded for halftime, McLaughlin found the back of the net off an assist from King.
“It’s a great time to score and a really bad time to concede,” O’Neill said. “We were pleased and proud of the effort to finish that half strong to get the lead. Second half we could have had a couple more, but more importantly we were very organized and defensively sound. We knew the shutout would win the game. Scoring goals is great, but scoring goals right before the buzzer goes just adds a little bit more momentum to your side.”
A strong second half with 7 shots from the Huskies resulted in 3 saves for Valenti, bringing her total to 6 for the match. NIU’s defense held the Redbirds to 2 shots in the second half, allowing only 7 attempts in total.
NIU graduate student goalkeeper Ary Purifoy saved 3 shots from ISU, recording her fourth shutout of the season, and her second straight.
“Looking forward to getting back home, it’s been four games on the road,” O’Neill said. “We went 3-1 on the road which is great, definitely difficult to do. Looking to continue our non-conference play with a win. We’ve got to perform and make sure we’re ready for Valpo, they’ll be a good team. We’ve got momentum on our side right now, so it’s about keeping the energy high, keeping the confidence and morale high, and then we’ll go on Sunday and attack the game to try and win that one as well.”
NIU women’s soccer returns home at 1 p.m. Sunday when they face Valparaiso University at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. NIU All Access will livestream the match.
