Huskies knock off MAC champions

Women’s soccer wins 2-1 to end a four-game losing streak and pick up their first win in conference play

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Courtesy of Scott Walstrom/NIU Athletics

The NIU women’s soccer team mobs then-graduate student forward Haley Hoppe after scoring the winning goal against Indiana State on Aug. 22, 2021, in DeKalb. Hoppe’s goal in the 104th minute gave the Huskies their first victory of the 2021 season.

By Davione Barrow, Sports Reporter

DeKALB — The women’s soccer team defeated the Bowling Green State University Falcons on 2-1 Sunday, breaking their four-game losing streak. 

The Huskies came out the gates aggressive with early shots at the goal, including a goal by redshirt senior forward/midfielder Amanda Czneriak in the 6th minute of play. 

Bowling Green attempted 28 shots throughout the contest. The Falcons only managed to score one goal. 

The Huskies did well in being energetic and engaged on both sides of the ball early, leading to shot opportunities and lanes for open teammates to get shots off. 

“I’m definitely proud of the fight that our team came out with today,”  NIU head coach Julie Colhoff said in a Sept. 26 NIU Athletics news release. “That made a huge difference, you could visibly see the passion we played with today.” 

In the first half, Bowling Green was getting a lot of shots up, but many of which were shots that did not hit the back of the net or were on goal as well. 

The Falcons had numerous different opportunities to score throughout the match but were unable to get anything going in the first half offensively. 

Graduate forward Haley Hoppe was big in setting the tone for the Huskies and creating plays for her teammates, along with disrupting passes and causing havoc on the defensive side of the ball. 

Senior goalkeeper Sadie McGill did great for the Huskies in deflecting shots and being a real problem for the Falcons in looking to score. 

In the second half, the Falcons were still getting to the box, however, they were still not connecting with the back of the net. 

In the 82nd minute of the game, freshman forward/midfielder Edith Delgado checked into the game, and the next minute scored. 

In the 83rd minute of the game, Delgado scored a goal off an assist from Hoppe to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead over the Falcons. 

The Falcons made their way back, and had a response for the Huskies. In the 84th minute of the game, Falcons junior midfielder Jasmijn Dijisselhof scored a goal off an assist from senior forward Lynsey Spotts. 

The Falcons were not  able to bridge the gap, let alone score once more. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Lili Berg recorded saves for the Falcons as well. 

McGill noticed a season high of eight saves in the contest for the Huskies. 

The Huskies are set to face off against the University of Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Kickoff is set to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Huskies will be back home on Oct. 3 to host Eastern Michigan.