NIU women’s soccer (9-4-4, 3-3-3 MAC) defeated the Ball State University Cardinals (7-7-2, 2-5-2 MAC) on the road 3-1.
“I thought we had all the factors in the game. I thought we were pinnacle in the final third, and thought we defended greatly, probably the best we had all year,” said NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill. “It’s a shame they got that last goal, but it’s a great strike. All round performance, I thought was really pleasing and obviously, more importantly, it’s a win. It’s three points, and we’re moving up the standings so just excited with the win.”
Tonight’s victory increased the Huskies’ hope in reaching the Mid-American Conference tournament, putting them in fifth place in the Mid-American Conference.
“We came together about two weeks ago now and said, look, you know the situation we’re in every game is going to be like a cup final, you know we have to win, we definitely can’t lose,” O’Neill said. “We won three out of the last four and every game is so important right now to making progress and making your way into that MAC tournament and that top six.”
The game was scoreless back and forth until the 18th minute of the game when Huskie junior defender Aubrey Robertson opened the scoring and gave NIU a 1-0 lead.
“I think it was huge for us to see the ball hit the back of the net first and to go up early against a team like Ball State,” Robertson said. “They’re super competitive, and they’re a really good team, so to go up 1-0 early was awesome for the team to boost the morale. (Senior defender) Lea (Gruennagel) just sent in a great cross, and I just thought, ‘put my head on it,’ and it just went back in the net, so it was huge. It was also pretty special for me to see the ball going back in the net since I haven’t done that in a while.”
The Huskies would maintain the 1-0 lead going into halftime.
It didn’t take the Huskies long after the half to find another goal as sophomore forward Tyra King found the back of the net in the 47th minute to double the lead for NIU.
The Huskies would add to the lead in the 69th minute when graduate student midfielder Abby Zipse scored to give NIU a comfortable 3-0 lead against the Cardinals.
“We needed some daylight, and obviously, a second goal was great from Tyra (King) and the third one from Zipse that’s their (Zipse’s) second goal in a week, and yeah, they were the daylight,” O’Neill said. “When it’s all said and done, Ball State got a goal back, so that third goal was really important to keep that separation between the two teams. And when the team is scoring three goals a game, with how we defend, we’re more than likely to win those games and today proved that.”
On top of her goal, Zipse also broke the NIU women’s soccer record for most appearances with 85.
“It felt really good, really rewarding to know that everything that I’ve put into this program, all the miles on my legs, kind of has a little bit of meaning to it,” Zipse said.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, they wouldn’t maintain a clean sheet as, in the 81st minute, Cardinals graduate student defender Jordyn Jeffers would score to make the game 3-1.
That didn’t budge the Huskies from holding on to their lead, and securing the win.
“We just gotta keep pushing forward, keep a positive mentality, again, knowing that we still have a chance. I think is going to help,“ Zipse said. “So this win was huge for that. And then going into these next few we got to put the ball in the back of the net and keep our defense solid.”
The Huskies seek victory in their two remaining conference games to secure a spot in the MAC tournament.
“We have a lot of momentum behind us, spirits are high, girls are working hard,” O’Neill said. Practice is sharp every day right now, so it’s just continue to keep your feet on the ground, understand what’s working, what’s getting us over the line. And continue to build on that because each MAC game is going to be difficult, no team is going to be easy, and we’re going to need that consistency to continue to win games.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies return at 1 p.m. Sunday to face the University of Toledo Rockets at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex in DeKalb. Live streaming will be available on NIU All-Access and live stats will be provided by SIDEARM Stats.
