NIU women’s soccer (9-5-5, 3-4-4 MAC) was defeated on the road 1-0 against the Western Michigan University Broncos (11-1-6, 8-0-3 MAC).
“Really proud of the group,” said NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill. “We attacked the game right from the first minute. I thought our toughness, aggression in the defensive phases of the game was fantastic. But there was one thing missing, and that was scoring goals.”
Tonight’s game brought an end to the Huskies’ season, as they needed a win against the Broncos to qualify for the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
But the Huskies still ended with a winning percentage of .605, their best since 1998.
“Once you take a step back and reflect, you see, ‘wow, we did some really, really good things this year,’” O’Neill said. “But we’ve got a lot of work to do to cross that line to become a real contender in the MAC, because it is such a tough conference.”
The lone goal of the match came when Bronco’s graduate student forward Callie Cunningham put the ball in the back of the net in the 14th minute off of an assist from graduate student forward Jen Blitchok and senior forward/midfielder Jenna Blackburn.
That would be the only time the ball would hit the back of the net during the match.
“We dominated so much in the first half, and obviously, they had the goal, but we had the clear cut chances,” O’Neill said. “We missed one from a yard out, hit the crossbar, missed two or three 1-v-1s with the keeper and opportunities in the 18-yard box. We created some really good opportunities, but just failed to score, so we didn’t really need to change much or want to change much. It was just a case of backing ourselves and trying to take a chance when it came, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.”
The Huskies were outshot 17-10 on total shots and outshot 6-2 for shots on target.
“I actually felt like, in terms of the flow, the game was actually quite even, and we had the better chances, believe it or not,” O’Neill said. “They were a good team, but I don’t think that stopped us from playing today. It was just that we were our own worst enemy in terms of not taking the chances that we created.”
Today’s loss to the Broncos, alongside other results around MAC play, kept the Huskies out of the conference tournament by two points.
“You know, we could have won every game we played,” O’Neill said. “We weren’t good enough in and around the 18-yard box, so that’s going to be our focus, and from a developmental standpoint, developing players in that moment to be a little bit more ruthless in front of that because goals win games.”
The Huskies are looking to recuperate in the offseason and make a comeback for the 2025 season.
“It’s bittersweet,” O’Neill said. “Lots to be proud of. Excited for what’s to come with the program, but also knowing that we need some players to step up, look to improve. Coaching staff, we’ll do that as well and try and improve the team in different areas, and, if we can, then the future is bright.”
