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Monday, November 3, 2014 H www.NorthernStar.info/Sports
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Volleyball
The Huskies rebounded from their first conference loss and secured a spot in the MAC Tournament after they beat the Ball State Cardinals Saturday. Page 7.
Cross country
NIU’s top two runners smashed their personal records and became the program’s first runners to earn All-MAC honors at the MAC Championships Saturday. Page 7.
Women’s soccer advances to semifinals Huskies knock off No. 2 RedHawks
MAC semifinals
Vs.: Western Michigan Broncos When: 6 p.m. Friday Where: Buffalo, N.Y.
Steve Shonder Staff Writer H @NSSportsShonder
A bumpy ride of a weekend ended with women’s soccer securing a trip to the MAC semifinals for the first time since 2007. The Huskies fell to the Western Michigan Broncos, 2-0, in Friday’s regular season finale in Kalamazoo, Mich. The loss placed the Huskies as the seventh seed. In the MAC tournament opener, the Huskies downed the No. 2 seed Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, 4-3, in penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals. This was the Huskies’ thirdstraight season as the seventh seed and secondstraight firstround match with Miami. “It feels good,” said head coach John Ross. “This program hasn’t John Ross gotten this far Head coach … since 2007. That’s a long time. We definitely have the talent, and this is what we expected from them.”
Suresh Vakati | Northern Star File Photo
Senior midfielder Allie McBride (11) fights off an opponent Oct. 24 at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex. The Huskies earned a trip to the MAC semifinals with a 4-3 win over Miami (Ohio) Sunday.
evenly in the first half, with neither team getting many strong chances. NIU took three of its four shots in the opening 30 minutes but was only able to get one shot in the second half. Freshman Lauren Gierman’s shot was sent out by a WMU defender, but the Huskies failed to capitalize on the resulting pair of corner kicks. Western Michigan Western Michigan took the lead The Huskies played the Broncos when Rachel Chaney buried a
shot in the top right corner of the goal. The Huskies weren’t able to respond, as the Broncos began to press the NIU defense. “They were connecting passes very well in the second half,” said junior Emily Nulty. “They just ran up on us.” Liz Abro put the game away on a penalty kick goal in the 78th minute, giving Western Michigan a 2-0 lead. “There were some good moments,
but Western Michigan was a good team. They played well,” Ross said. “We just needed to be sharper. “All the players need to play better. We created some opportunities, but we didn’t capitalize. We weren’t as composed as we needed to be in the final third.” Miami It took 110 minutes and penalty
kicks to decide a winner between Miami and NIU, but a goal from senior Ashley Neubeck sent the Huskies to the second round. “It’s unbelievable,” Neubeck said. “In my four years here we never got this far. Getting that winning goal in penalty kicks was awesome. We’re super pumped. No one expected us to beat Miami.” Freshman goalkeeper Amy Annala made a pair of huge saves to open up penalty kicks after Maggie Scott and Kelsey Dinges went left. Senior Allie McBride and Gierman scored to give NIU an early 2-0 advantage. Miami came roaring back with two-straight goals to tie the game at 2-2, but the Huskies maintained their advantage and set up Neubeck’s game-winner. The RedHawks kept up an aggressive attack on the Huskies, but the defense held through 110 minutes. “The team played great,” Ross said. “This is one of our better games, offensively and defensively. It’s just about being focused and being ready to play.”
Frazier’s plan ushers in new, updated facilities Facilities | From Page 1
“For me, the turf field is ones that’s a necessity,” Mathey said. “I like the whole package, but that’s the necessity because in our climate, in our region it’s something that would allow us to keep the games on schedule better. More importantly, for me as a coach, it allows you to get your practices in on your field a lot more.” The tennis facility and the Olympic sports facility will be located
west of the Chessick Practice Center. It will be the home of the men’s and women’s tennis programs and will contain four indoor tennis courts and locker rooms. Frazier said Athletics will explore allowing court time to be rented to community members and non-student-athletes. The Olympic sports facility will be west of the tennis facility and will include practice areas for golf, gymnastics and wrestling and locker rooms for multiple sports.
“The fact that we’re in two gyms is kind of a handcuff just from a scheduling practice, running practice, just the ins and outs of every day,” said gymnastics head coach Sam Morreale. “So, the fact that we would be in one facility would be outstanding.” Upgrades In addition to Huskie Stadium, the Convocation Center and Mary M. Bell Field will see updates. The Convocation Center will have a ring around the outside
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of the seating area to connect the lobbies on the north and south sides. Fans will be able to walk the concourse from one side of the center to the other without having to enter the seating area. Mary M. Bell Field will see an increase from 650 seats to 1,000 seats as well as additions of restrooms, concessions and locker rooms. Football head coach Rod Carey said he expects the new complexes and upgrades to help in recruiting and bringing together the community.
“Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program,” Carey said. “… It’s going to add to us just unbelievable recruiting ability. … I think it’s the right thing to do for our community. … We have some fine student-athletes here, and now the community has just so embraced us that now it’s time to get the facilities, overall on campus, where they’re very community-friendly and student-[friendly], not just studentathlete, … so that you really can create the environment seven days a week that you have around here often.”
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