Conference play has changed how NIU women’s soccer has to play in order to be successful.

MAC conference matches are a more physical brand of soccer compared to the non-conference portion of the schedule.

Through six conference matches, an average of 24 fouls have been called per game, compared to an average of 18 fouls per game called in NIU’s seven non-conference matches.

The Huskies goal-scoring output has gone down since the start of conference play, too. In the seven non-conference matches, the Huskies scored a total of 10 goals; in comparison, they scored five goals in six MAC games.

“I would say that the physicality of MAC play plays a big role in our goal scoring,” said senior mid-fielder/forward Shelbi Johnson. “In the sense that you don’t have the time that you might have in the non-conference games, because in MAC [games] you probably have a split second to get rid of the ball before somebody’s gonna be hitting you or be on your back right away.

“So I think it definitely plays into it and the way we need to adjust to it is just by moving the ball quicker and taking our opportunities when we have them versus trying to hold on to the ball for too long or trying to do too much with the ball.”

The hard hitting and physical style of MAC conference play is something NIU players don’t mind.

“I think just in general our team’s a physical team,” said coach John Ross. “You know, they work hard in practice and get after each other in practice and that prepares them for this. The physical game is what we like; good clean, hard, physical games make it more exciting and more fun to be a part of.”

Playing soccer at the college level lends itself to a physical style.

“I mean, we’re at the level where pretty much every game brings a good amount of physical play,” said sophomore forward Allie McBride. “So, even in our off-season we play teams that are very physical, so I think we’ve been well-prepared for that for the MAC play.”

McBride said Ross tries to tell his team to practice the same way they would play on the pitch.

“Well, coach John, he likes to say that we should practice how we play,” McBride said. “So, we don’t go light on our players, like where there’s a 50-50 [ball] obviously you don’t want to go in and hurt your own teammate and you don’t want to go too hard, but you go like you would in the game.”