DeKALB — The Huskies women’s soccer team and the University of Akron Zips faced off Thursday with the game ending in a double overtime, resulting in a 0-0 draw.  

The Zips were first to get a shot up in the first half, with junior Carly Pcholinsky shooting high over the goal post. Pcholinsky got another attempt at the goal in the 11th minute, but the shot missed off right.

The Huskies played physically, totaling seven fouls in the first half, and the Zips had a total of five fouls. There were a total of 13 free kicks between both the Huskies and the Zips. The Huskies had five, and the Zips had eight. 

The first shot for the Huskies in the first half came from freshman midfielder/forward Quinlan Libit, who just missed high. 

The Zips finished the first half with a total of eight shots, with two of which being on goal. The Huskies ended the period with two shot attempts, one of which was on goal.

The Huskies began the second half on the right foot, getting an early corner in the 47th minute. In the 49th minute of play, junior forward Julia Neary attempted a shot but missed high. 

“As the half went on, we seemed to get a hold of things and the second half was definitely a better performance,” head coach Julie Colhoff said in a Thursday NIU Athletics news release. “We were able to keep the ball, mostly in our attacking half.” 

Akron responded back on the other end with a shot coming from freshman midfielder Morgan Pentz in the 53rd minute. Junior goalkeeper Sadie McGill made a high center save to stop the Zips from converting. 

NIU’s defense  also picked up in the second half, blocking shots and getting within passing lanes. 

In the 54th minute, redshirt freshman Rielyn Hamilton’s shot was blocked by the Huskies as they continued to turn up the defensive intensity. In the 74th minute, redshirt junior Aislinn Meaney attempted a shot which the Huskies also blocked. 

Both the Huskies and the Zips played hard on both sides of the ball, getting shot opportunities and making defensive stops along the way. In the 80th minute, sophomore forward Shaye Jones had a shot deflected by the Zips.

The final 10 minutes of regulation consisted of shots from Jones and redshirt senior forward/midfielder Amanda Czerniak. Both were unable to reach the back of the net, resulting in the game going to overtime. 

In overtime, Czerniak  got the first shot attempt, but it was saved by freshman goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier. 

The final shot for the Huskies came in the 93rd minute by graduate forward Haley Hoppe. Hoppe’s shot was blocked. The Zips got two shot attempts at the goal by Meaney and freshman midfielder Sara Nguyen but were unable to connect. 

Neither team was able to score in overtime, resulting in another extra period of play. 

In double overtime, much of the manner of the match remained the same. The Huskies had three shot attempts, while the Zips had two shot attempts. 

Hoppe had a shot in the 100th minute, and junior Abby McHugh had two shot attempts as well. 

In the 102nd minute of the match, Meaney attempted a shot that ended up missing left. 

In the 109th minute, Pentz attempted a shot, which was saved by McGill. The match ended up finishing in a tie, with both teams scoreless. 

NIU is back at home on Sunday to face off against the University at Buffalo for senior night. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.