Women’s soccer (2-7-0, 1-1-0 MAC) went head-to-head with the Toledo Rockets and the Central Michigan Chippewas last weekend, defeating Toledo and losing to Central Michigan.

Toledo

The Huskies took down the Rockets 2-0 in game one, granting them their second home win on the season.

Defense controlled most of the first half with both NIU and Toledo trading multiple shots and penalties. Sophomore midfielder Lauren Gierman scored the first goal on the game and her first goal of the season in the 61st minute of play.

In the final period, the Huskies “added the pressure,” said head coach John Ross. “We really kind of pinned them in that half.”

Added pressure and completed corner kicks were a consistent go-to for the Huskies as they took down the Rockets.

Toledo (4-7) advanced its scoring efforts but was shut down repeatedly by NIU defenders.

Senior goalkeeper Julia Poladian made several key saves for the Huskies that gave the offense an opportunity to score a second time at the 72nd minute of play.

The goal came again from Gierman as she kicked her second unassisted goal on the day on a free kick from 50 yards.

Central Michigan

The Huskies fell to the Central Michigan Chippewas 2-0 on Sunday as they found themselves struggling in the first half. NIU nearly scored in the 18th minute of play following two penalty kicks against Central Michigan, but weren’t able to capitalize on either.

The Huskies were shut down in the end by freshman goalkeeper Zoie Reed. Senior midfielder Kaelyn Korte scored in the 22nd minute despite racking up penalties in the beginning,

Defender Taylor Potts scored the second goal for the Chippewas, bringing the score to 2-0 at the end of the first period. NIU made several attempts at goal kicks before the end of the period but were unable to put any points on the board.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start,” Ross said of the first half performance from his team.

The Huskies spent their time on defense battling the Chippewas’ every step to steal the ball and defend their goal in the final period.

Although the Huskies came out aggressively, acquiring six penalties to Central Michigan’s three, the Huskies were unable to convert any of their three corner kicks into goals.

Central Michigan failed to connect on all of its goal attempts in the second half, but held on to beat the Huskies 2-0. “We understand how to win on Sundays,” Ross said. “We weren’t there at the beginning of the game, but we figured out pretty quick.”

NIU will move on to play Ohio (3-6-0) at 3 p.m. on Friday in Athens, Ohio. The Huskies will end the weekend with a game against Kent State (5-3-2) at 11 a.m. in Kent, Ohio as they attempt to win their third and fourth games of the season.