ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team fell to Horizon League foe Oakland, 1-0, on Wednesday evening at Oakland Soccer Field.
The first half saw Oakland (5-5-6, 4-1-2 Horizon) fire seven shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The NKU (9-5, 5-2 Horizon) defense tamed the Golden Grizzlies and held them without a shot for the remainder of the half.
Meanwhile, sophomore forward
Macy Hamblin led NKU with a pair of shot attempts in the opening frame, both going wide of the goal. Her best look came late in the first period when senior midfielder
Kelsey Zwergel took a set piece that found the foot of Hamblin. The forward fired from the top of the 18-yard box, forcing the keeper to dive right as the ball would sail just wide of the goal in the 44th minute.
The shot attempt left the match knotted in a scoreless tie at halftime.
The teams returned to the pitch with both struggling to break into the offensive third, stuck in a battle for possession at midfield.
The game saw a strong presence from
Kelsey Zwergel on the back line, as she cleared a dangerous shot attempt just in front of the goal line midway through the second period to keep the game scoreless.
The Golden Grizzlies would break free from the Norse defense in the 72nd minute when Alice Palmer scored the game-winner from 15 yards out on a cross Joan Sieja. Nessa Ogbonna was also credited with an assist on the goal.
The goal put the game just out of reach of the Norse as NKU would manage one shot attempt through the end of the game.
Goalkeeper
Brooke Schocker posted three saves in the match after facing 12 shots in her full 90 minutes of action.
The Norse return to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 24 to take on League-leading Milwaukee on the road at 8 p.m. ET. Following the road match, NKU wraps up the regular season on Oct. 30 at home against Green Bay for Senior Night.
NORSE NOTES:- Schocker, a junior goalkeeper, has totaled 52 saves this season, just one save shy of tying for ninth place in single season saves in NKU program history.
- Hamblin led NKU in shot attempts for the eighth time this season. In total, she leads the Norse with 65 shots across 13 games.
