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OXFORD, Ohio - Eighteen Miami soccer players logged at least 20 minutes and the RedHawk bench scored twice to hand them a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday's victory moves Miami above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5-1 and bumps its Mid-American Conference record to 3-1-1.

The Huskies (4-6-2, 3-2 MAC) started off with some sustained possession and fired four shots in the first 25 minutes of play. NIU's best opportunity came after a foul by MU gave it a direct free kick from the middle at about 20 yards out in the 26th minute. Her low shot got through traffic, but sailed just wide of the left post to leave it scoreless.

Miami's bench turned the tide of play in the first half as Shae van Gassen and Sam Worthman made an immediate impact on the forward unit. Worthman got fed down the right flank by van Gassen in the 28th minute and her angled shot was covered by Amy Annala. That possession for Miami continued throughout the remainder of the frame and a corner kick eventually paid off in the 36th minute when Stephanie Dillon served a high ball into the box that Dana Miller flicked to the right side. From there, van Gassen hopped to get the ball in the air and struck it into the upper 90 for her second goal of the season. Miami outshot Northern Illinois by a 6-4 margin to take the 1-0 lead into halftime.

"I'm pleased with how our kids came out," head coach Bobby Kramig said. "They got a well-deserved goal in the first half and we learned our lesson from our last game at Eastern Michigan last week on playing with a lead in the second half. We got great contributions from our bench and that helped us close it out."

After a chippy first half that saw 15 fouls and three yellow cards issued, the contest cleaned up in the second. In their bid for an equalizer, the Huskies attempted the first three shots of the second half, with Maniaci making a pair of saves. Once Miami stemmed the Northern Illinois tide, it went on the attack and in the 63rd minute added some insurance. The RedHawks made some deft passes to dissect the Husky defense as Tori Christiansen slipped the ball ahead to Amy Malone, who then kicked it wide to an oncoming Worthman. Without stopping the ball, Worthman served the ball into a dangerous spot and while it caromed off a Northern Illinois defender, it came bounced directly to Jenn Rowe, who left footed the ball from 23 yards out atop the box and beat Annala clean to the right post for her first collegiate goal. That strike put MU in front by two goals for the first time this year.

The RedHawks grinded the Huskies down the rest of the way with their depth off the bench playing a vital role not just in the scoreboard, but in having fresh legs out to defend the lead. NIU managed to get two more shots on target, but Maniaci turned them both aside to preserve the win.

Miami outshot Northern Illinois by a 13-10 margin and nearly doubled the tries on corner kicks (10-6). Maniaci's four saves earned the senior her 23rd career solo shutout to tie Allison Norenberg's school record while Annala made four saves on six shots at the other end.

Miami gets a couple days off before it heads to Western Michigan in a rematch of last season's MAC Tournament finals. First kick is at 1 p.m.