Oct. 22, 2009

DEKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's soccer team will hit the road this weekend as the Huskies are set to compete in two of their final three regular-season games. The Huskies will begin this weekend's competition against Ball State Friday at 2 p.m., before continuing action on the road at Miami (Ohio), Sunday at noon.

The Huskies wrapped up their home schedule last weekend, after dropping a pair of tough losses to Mid-American Conference leader Central Michigan (Oct. 16) and Eastern Michigan (Oct. 19).

NIU dropped a 1-0 overtime decision to CMU, who is undefeated in the MAC. In Sunday's contest against EMU, Kelsey Passaglia (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove) recorded her second goal of the season before the Huskies fell to the Eagles, who notched a penalty kick with just 31 seconds left on the clock to win the game, 2-1.

Entering the weekend, the Huskies are ranked fifth in the MAC in goals allowed (17) and goals-against-average (1.01). The Huskies also rank sixth in the MAC with 73 saves this season.

Goalkeeper Lindsey Curnock (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) ranks fifth in the MAC with 67 saves on the season.

"We had two heartbreakers this past weekend," head women's soccer coach Carrie Barker said. "Our preparation this week has been good and I'm excited to compete this weekend."

The Huskies will face Ball State (4-11, 2-6 MAC) Friday, as the Huskies enter the match-up with a 4-4-3 all-time series record against Ball State. The Cardinals are paced by Megan Riddley, who has recorded four goals with three assists for 11 points this season.

Miami (8-6-1, 4-3-1 MAC) enters the weekend with a 3-7-1 series advantage over the Huskies. The Redhawks are led by Sarah Lund, who has recorded five goals and two assists for 12 points on the season.