Sept. 18, 2009

Box Score

DeKALB, Ill. - Freshman Marlen Knoph, sophomore Deanna Colarossi, and senior Lindsey Blair all fired shots on goal, but the Oakland University women's soccer team (2-5) was unable to find the back of the net as Northern Illinois (3-4-0) captured a 4-0 decision over the Golden Grizzlies on Friday at the NIU Soccer Complex.

"Surprisingly, despite the score, we actually played very well," said head coach Nick O'Shea. "We created better chances and some of our players were very aggressive going to goal. We created a lot of opportunities and just couldn't put the ball in. We did make a couple mistakes on the first goal defensively."

NIU struck first in the 26th minute, as Lisa Maier took a long feed and put it past OU keeper Whitney Sarkis, giving NIU a 1-0 lead. However, the OU defense kept NIU from getting further pressure on the net during the opening 45 minutes, holding the Huskies to no other shots on goal.

However, the second half saw the Huskies extend the game to 2-0 in the 58th minute, and break the game open in the final ten minutes of play, scoring goals in the 81st and 90th minutes.

"The last couple goals came with a lot of our players pushed forward," said O'Shea. "We put most of our players up front trying to make pressure, and just left one or two players back."

Sarkis made three saves for OU, all coming in the second half. NIU held an 11-8 advantage in shots, a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks, and a 13-6 advantage in fouls.

The Golden Grizzlies will look to snap their four-game skid on Tuesday, Sept. 22, as OU travels to Detroit to face the University of Detroit Mercy. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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