Huskies Rally for Extra time Win at Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University women’s soccer team equalized five minutes before the end of the game and was equalized by the seniors Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas / Rouse) and a novice overtime winner Kierah Meier (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) when the huskies overtook Toledo 2-1 on Sunday afternoon (March 7th) at Paul Hotmer Field.

“I am delighted and proud of the work our group has done today,” said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. “We talked a lot about keeping up our efforts and our game plan until we played all the way through because we missed out there on Thursday. We did that today, we gave up on the goal, but it was a good thing. ” see that everyone does not give up, work hard and fight.

“Great service from (Hannah) Kroupa and great finish from Haley (Hoppe) and it’s always a great thing to go into overtime with panache. It was a good thing for us to seal the deal quickly (in overtime) , it was defensive work by Haley (Hoppe) who got the ball to Anese (English) who played a brilliant ball to Kierah (Meier) and then Kierah had a really composed finish to take the win, it’s exciting , the group is excited and it is a good step in the right direction. “

NIU (1-1-0, 1-1-0 MAC) had their first look at goal in the competition in their sophomore year Nicolette Gossage (Moneka, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) shot from outside the box, which was thrown away in the fourth minute by Toledo goalkeeper Emma Boutorwick.

The two teams combined were credited with 18 shots in the first half, but neither team made the breakthrough when the competition entered halftime.

Toledo (0-2-0, 0-2-0 MAC) broke the cul-de-sac just before the hour when Stephanie Currie forced a turnover in midfield and ran to the edge of the box before taking it down for a shot at Betsk Lueck from the far post into play to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead.

NIU pushed for a draw as the second half passed and the Huskies were on par with Hoppe with just under five minutes of play. The Huskies won a corner and the sophomore year Hannah Kroupa (New Berlin, Wis./New Berlin) floated the free kick towards the back post, where Hoppe rose above everyone, including Boutorwick’s outstretched hand, to level the game 1-1 in the 86th minute.

The Huskies needed a little more than three minutes in extra time when Meier scored the winner. student in the first year Anese English (Chicago, Ill./Eisenhower) made a turnover 30 meters from goal and played a ball behind the Toledo defense against Meier, whose first touch pushed the ball past Boutorwick, who was coming out of their line, into the back of the net to give the huskies victory.

Boutorwick scored four saves in goal for the Rockets, Junior Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) made six stops for the huskies in the first half while they were older Megan Donnally (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) made three stops after starting the second half.

The NIU will be active again next Sunday, March 14th, when the Huskies host Eastern Michigan. The match against the Eagles is scheduled for 3 p.m.