Nicole Gobbo
On a warm summer day, the Northern Illinois women’s soccer team kept up the heat against in-state opponent Eastern Illinois. The Huskies fired off 17 shots in this game and never looked back, scoring on three of those attempts to win in a 3-0 shutout.
The first half of this game featured a tough defensive battle.
The Huskies were often on the attack, but the Panthers were able to fend them off and hold a scoreless tie going into the half. The Northern Illinois women had gotten off eight shots over the first 45 minutes, but thanks to stellar work in net by Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Kylie Morgan and the Panther defenders, the Huskies were held out of the score column.
This would not last however, as Northern Illinois came out for the second half fired up and determined to win this game.
Nicole Gobbo (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) began the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute. She took a deflected ball right in front of the goal and punched it in for the easy 1-0 lead.
Frances Boukidis (La Crescenta, Cali./Crescenta Valley) was next. In the 68th minute, she padded the lead by booming the ball through the posts and into the net before the opposing goalkeeper could get there. Jess Woolridge (Center Point, Iowa/Center Point-Urbana) wasted little time giving the Huskies another insurance goal, with help from Allie McBride (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) on the assist.
The game quickly went from a tight affair to a secure-looking victory, and Northern Illinois was indeed able to hold from there to win 3-0.
Amy Carr (Hemel Hempstead, England/Townsend Church of England) and the defensive crew started the season strong by shutting out the opposition. They allowed the Panthers just two shots all game, and only one of those was on net.
The Huskies came out ahead in just about every statistical category. They had more corner kicks (8-1), more shots on goal (7-1), and more shots (17-3). It was a strong performance to begin the season, and they’ll look to keep it up for the remainder of the season.
Northern Illinois has two games to play on Labor Day weekend. The Huskies will travel Friday, Aug. 30, to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on Purdue at 6 p.m. On Sunday, Sept. 1, they’ll host Lewis University at 1 p.m.
For more information on NIU women’s soccer and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
