Oct. 18, 2015 Box Score | PDF Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. - Despite a 17-8 edge in shot attempts, the Miami soccer team was unable to crack the scoresheet as it played Northern Illinois to a scoreless draw on Sunday afternoon.
The RedHawks move to 9-5-1 overall and are now 5-2-1 in Mid-American Conference play, moving into a first-place tie with Buffalo in the MAC East standings (third overall).
"This was a disappointing result," head coach
Bobby Kramig said. "We probably had the better of the play, but needed to be a little sharper around the net. Hats off to our back four and Vic (Maniaci), they played well to get the shutout."
Neither team was able to get much attack established as an uneventful first half came and went. Miami had a slight edge in the possession metrics with a 4-2 edge in shots (2-1 shots on goal) and a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. That said, nothing made it into either net as the RedHawks and Huskies remained scoreless at the break.
Things opened up a little bit more in the second half as MU outshot NIU 8-3, but Amy Annala made four stops to keep things scoreless after 90 minutes of play. The first overtime saw the Huskies hold a 3-1 edge in shots and nearly win it before the horn as they served a corner kick into the penalty area to Mackenzie Lewis, whose shot hit the crossbar and stayed out to send it to double OT.
The Red and White put on one more surge in the second overtime, taking all four of the shots in that period. However, Annala made two more stops as Miami had to settle for just a point.
In addition to outshooting NIU 17-8, MU also had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Despite that spread, Miami was unable to solve Annala, who stopped all eight shots that she faced.
Vic Maniaci added three saves of her own to pick up her seventh solo shutout of the year, tying her total from last year.
Miami has three regular season matches remaining, all of which are at home, beginning with a showdown against defending MAC champion and MAC East co-leader Buffalo on Friday at 3 p.m.
