NIU women’s soccer (4-9-3, 2-6-2 MAC) failed to win their fourth game in a row, falling on the road against Eastern Michigan University Eagles (6-7-4, 4-3-4 MAC) in a 3-2 loss on Sunday.
“From a performance standpoint, some of our best soccer,” said NIU head coach Michael O’Neill via NIU Athletics. “We had a (Thursday) off, so we had a week to prepare. We did some good things, moved the ball well, created some good chances in the areas we wanted to get into and got two goals. In the second half, we conceded a couple of goals on the counter, obviously one being a penalty but from a counter moment. It started to feel like it’s just the way it is this year unfortunately.”
The Huskies started hot, opening up the scoring in the sixth minute of the game when sophomore forward Alyssa Stephenson found the back of the net off a pass by senior forward Kelsi McLaughlin.
The Eagles responded in the 23rd minute when junior forward Olivia Sipsock put it past the keeper, off of a double assist from junior defender Rosalie Takacsy and freshmen defender Abby Parsons.
The Huskies retook the lead four minutes later when sophomore midfielder Lauren Mrugula got the Huskies second of the night from an assist from junior forward Tyra King, and junior midfielder Sarah Roy.
The Huskies went into the half leading 2-1, despite being outshot 11-6.
The second half had a slow start, but the Eagles woke up and tied the game in the 63rd minute when Sipsock slotted it away from the penalty spot to get her second goal of the game.
The Eagles didn’t need long to take the lead, as just four minutes later sophomore midfielder Maya Marolly found the back of the net from a pass by junior forward Aniyah Mack, giving Eastern Michigan a 3-2 lead.
The Huskies had 3 shots on target in the second half, all of which were saved by Eagles redshirt junior goalkeeper Ella Holland.
With the loss, the Huskies are out of MAC playoff contention with just one game left in the season.
“We have to take positives from today but also in the bigger picture know that, mentality-wise, when you go up you have to have a little more bite, discipline and organization to keep that lead. A bit of mixed emotions, performance good, results still not what we want of course,” O’Neill said via NIU Athletics.
UP NEXT
The Huskies round out conference play at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex taking on the Ball State University Cardinals. The game will be streamed on NIU All-Access and live stats will be updated on SIDEARM Sports.
