Soccer drops MAC opener to NIU
The Central Michigan University soccer team started the Mid-American Conference schedule with a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of Northern Illinois University, Friday.
CMU defender Kaylin Hoomaian fouled an NIU attacked near the box for a yellow card early in extra time. That was followed up with a red card. The Huskies scored the free kick for the victory one minute into the overtime period.
“The hard part is you’re in the zero sum business,” said head coach Peter McGahey. “You have some big positives, you dominate possession, you battle back and you have more chances but we just couldn’t find that last push.”
After an early Huskies goal, junior Kaelyn Korte scored for CMU near the end of the first half to keep the match deadlocked at one heading into the halftime break. The tie held for the entire second half, though the Chippewas dominated chances and possession in the last tilt of regulation.
“It wasn’t the prettiest goal but it got the job done,” said Korte of her first score of the year. “Cooksey sent it in and I was able to get a touch on it. It gives me confidence going into the next game to get the first one out of the way.”
The Chippewas outshot the Huskies 14 to seven and forced NIU goalkeeper Amy Annala to make eight saves.
“It was a tough loss and there is a lot of things we need to work on," sophomore Eliza Van de Kerkhove said. "But I think it will all come together tomorrow. If we bring it all together we’ll take Western on.”
The Chippewas host archrival WMU on Sunday at 2 p.m.
