The women’s soccer team had a rough weekend at the Jackrabbit Invitational, hosted in Brookings, S.D.

In their first match on Friday, the Huskies fell to (2-2-0) after a 3-1 loss to the South Dakota Coyotes. The team faltered again on Sunday after a 2-1 loss against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, bringing its record down to (2-3-0).

In the first match, the game was dead even until the 30-minute mark in the first half. At the 31st minute, the Coyotes struck first on an unassisted goal from Elena Tsakakis. The Huskies quickly struck back on a goal from sophomore Nicole Gobbo, assisted by Sara Spaulding, in the 32nd minute. The game remained tied until the 53rd minute, when South Dakota’s Rebecca Sparkman put the Coyotes up 2-1. The Coyotes scored again in the 60th minute when Jamie Karch tallied the final goal.

After a disappointing first game Friday, the Huskies were unable to bounce back against South Dakota State. NIU fell behind in the 13th minute when Alyssa Brazil scored on an assist from Megan Kingston. The Huskies were able to answer back on Spaulding’s first goal of the season in the 35th minute. The score was even for most of the game before the tie was broken with just more than a minute left to play. South Dakota State’s Caylee Costello was able to head the ball for the game-winning goal, sealing the victory for the Jackrabbits.

Despite the disappointing results of the weekend, NIU head coach John Ross was able to key in on some positives.

“We got some really good performances this weekend,” Ross said. “Lauren Noonan, Allie McBride and Sara Spaulding were all-tournament team this weekend. They really stepped up.”

Even with the strong play from Noonan, McBride and Spaulding, Ross is looking forward to getting back to work.

“We just need to get back and get back to practice,” Ross said. “We need to be ready for next Friday.”