Eagles Handed 3-1 Defeat by Northern Illinois

DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University soccer team suffered a 3-1 setback at the hands of Northern Illinois University Friday night, Oct. 24. The loss drops the Eagles to 9-6-1 on the season, but the Green and White remain at the top of the Mid-American Conference West Division with a conference record of 5-4-0. Meanwhile, the Huskies (6-9-2, 4-3-2 MAC) inch closer to Eastern in the division title race with the win at home.

Bianca Rossi scored the Eagles' lone goal for her sixth of the season and 24th of her career, moving her in a tie for fourth with Katie Lewis on EMU's all-time list. EMU out-shot Northern Illinois, 14-9, including 8-4 in shots on goal, but the Green and White struggled to find the back of the net. In goal, junior Megan McCabe (8-5-1) registered one save.

Three different Huskies scored goals as Nicole Gobbo, Emily Nulty and Gwen Sabo struck for NIU. Gobbo added an assist as well for a team-high three points on the night. Northern Illinois goalkeeper Amy Annala was strong in net throughout the 90 minutes of play, stopping seven Eastern shots.

NIU put the first number up on the scoreboard with a successful corner kick in the 19th minute. Lauren Gierman sent a ball into the box, where it connected with the head of Sabo as the senior snuck the header past McCabe to give Northern Illinois the early lead. However, the one-goal advantage was short-lived as the Green and White countered with a goal on its own corner kick four minutes later. Chelsie Oddan blasted a beautiful ball from the corner, and Rossi took advantage of the loose ball by heading it into the back of the net to square the match at 1-1.

Nine minutes later, the Huskies regained the lead on another header, this time by Gobbo. Marisa Knott placed a cross in to her teammate, and NIU found itself taking a 2-1 lead into halftime. Eastern put five of its eight shots on goal in the first half, but Annala made four saves.

In the second half, Northern Illinois added an insurance goal with a close-range strike in the 61st minute. Nulty converted a cross from Gobbo, and the Huskies' defense produced a clean sheet in the second half to claim the two-goal decision under the lights of their home pitch.

Eastern concludes the weekend by renewing the rivalry with in-state foe Western Michigan University. The match at the WMU Soccer Complex in Kalamazoo, Mich., is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will have implications in determining who has a chance to claim the MAC West crown.

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Team Stats

Bianca Rossi

Megan Trapp

Angela Vultaggio

Chelsie Oddan

Players Mentioned

Megan McCabe

Chelsie Oddan

Bianca Rossi

Players Mentioned

Megan McCabe

Chelsie Oddan

Bianca Rossi

Eastern Michigan Athletics