DeKalb | The women’s soccer team needed to have a good homestand against conference opponents Akron Zips and Buffalo Bulls. Instead, it had a great one.

The Huskies (4-7-1, 2-2 MAC) beat the Akron Zips (4-6-2, 1-3 MAC) 2-0 on Friday and followed that win with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Buffalo Bulls (5-5-2, 1-3 MAC) Sunday. The victories keep NIU undefeated at home and back at .500 in conference play.

The Huskies had two players stand out on the offensive side. Nicole Gobbo scored two goals against Akron, giving her six goals on the year. Against the Bulls, Courtney Ksiazek scored a pair, including the game winner in overtime.

Goalie Amy Carr had her second shutout of the season on Friday, and the defense had a solid weekend.

“I think this is the best weekend I’ve had in four years at NIU,” Carr said.

Against Akron, the Huskies kept the Zips out of the box defensively, especially in the first half. It was a change of pace for a team that has allowed 11 goals in the first half this season. The strong defensive play continued throughout the match, limiting Akron to one shot on goal all game. Head coach John Ross was pleased with the team’s play.

“They got after it from the first whistle to the last,” Ross said. “It was a complete team effort and I was really happy for them to get this win in this fashion.”

The offense was aggressive early, with Gobbo scoring her first goal of the day in the 24th minute. Gobbo continued her day with another goal early in the second half. This goal came off an assist from Jackie Wandt and Ksiazek. Ross was impressed with Gobbo’s play.

“She’s always dangerous and she’s deceptive with her speed,” Ross said. “She kind of lulls people to sleep and at the same time she’s running by them. She’s just getting better and better.”

The overtime thriller against Buffalo was a defensive struggle. The first half saw both teams limiting each other’s offensive chances. There were no shots on goal and only two shots in the first half.

The Bulls’ Karen McMahon struck first early in the second half with a floater over Carr from 25 yards out. After that, the Huskies changed their formation, adding a third forward to their usual two. The change led to a noted increase in pressure on the Buffalo defense, culminating in the equalizer from Ksiazek. The game-tying goal came off a long free kick from Carr that deflected off Buffalo goalie Ainsley Wheldon and into a group of NIU players.

“We challenged the first ball in the box and it popped out a little bit,” Ksiazek said. “It was coming at me and the defenders were coming. I knew I was going forward, so I put my momentum going forward and just hit it on frame.”

In the first two minutes of the second overtime, Ksiazek struck again. Taking the ball off an assist from Emily Nulty, Ksiazek launched a shot from around 30 yards out that found itself in the back of the net.

“When you have your chances in overtime, you just have to take them,” Ksiazek said.