Oct. 22, 2010

Box Score

DEKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois scored twice in the first 10 minutes and the Miami University women's soccer team was unable to dig out of the early hole, falling, 2-1, Friday afternoon at the Huskie Soccer and Track Complex. Despite the loss, the RedHawks (11-6-1, 4-4-1 Mid-American Conference) still lead the MAC East by a point over Ohio and control their divisional destiny while the Huskies (8-7-1, 4-4-1 MAC) remained unbeaten at home in league play.

NIU jumped on Miami from the opening whistle after the 'Hawks misplayed the opening kickoff. The Huskies kept the ball in Miami's end of the field, even though the Red and White had multiple clearance opportunities, until Frances Boukidis notched her second goal of the year just 2:30 into the contest on a rebound. Redshirt freshman keeper Kris Gasparovic (Rochester, Mich.) stopped Kylie Revelle on the initial shot but Boukidis cleaned up the leftovers.

The Huskies made it 2-0 just over five minutes later as Shelbi Johnson was credited with the tally after taking a corner kick that found its way inside the near post off the hand of Gasparovic on a failed clear.

"It was a deserved result," head coach Bobby Kramig said of the loss. "We gave up two goals in the first 10 minutes, which means we're not concentrating or paying attention. We were not prepared to play. You show up like that and teams will punish you for it."

Miami started to awake later in the half but still trailed 2-0 at the break despite NIU holding just a slim, 9-8, edge in shots. The Huskies also had a 5-3 edge in corners while Gasparovic stopped six shots in the period.

The RedHawks finally broke though at the 68-minute mark of the second half, as senior Rachel Byron (Elkhart, Ind.) buried her second penalty kick of the season. Miami earned the free look when freshman Katy Dolesh (South Euclid, Ohio) made a strong run onto the ball in the penalty box and was brought down by an NIU defender.

Miami continued to fight back, controlling the second half, including a 17-5 shot advantage in the final 45 minutes but Huskies keeper Amy Carr made five stops in the period and the 'Hawks came away unlucky at times, hitting the crossbar and post more than once. Miami would be unable to find the equalizer, coming up short, 2-1.

"We played much better in the second half. We played the way we're capable of playing, which makes the fact that we played poorly in the first half even more aggravating because in the second half we showed what were capable of," Kramig said. "We can't wait until we're two goals down to turn it on."

The 'Hawks finished with a 25-14 edge in shots for the match, but NIU put 10 of its 14 on target while Miami managed just nine shots on goal. Carr totaled eight stops while freshman Madison Ryan (Marietta, Ga.) relieved Gasparovic at halftime and made two saves in the second stanza. Both sides earned seven corners in the game.

"We have to come prepared to play all 90 minutes, not just 80. That's the first thing that has to happen," Kramig said. "The second thing is we need players to step up and start doing their job. We need forwards who will score goals - we had 25 shots and our only goal was by a defender -- goalies to make saves, defenders to pay attention and midfielders to posses the ball. We need players who will accept responsibility for these things and do them well for 90 minutes."

Miami looks to snap its two-game skid Sunday as the RedHawks travel to Western Michigan for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

--MURedHawks.com--