Ohio (5-1-2, 0-0-1 Mid-American Conference) is set to play Northern Illinois (6-1-2, 0-0-1 MAC) in its second conference game Sunday. In its conference opener, the team tied Western Michigan 1-1 after scoring first in the second half and then allowing a late second-half goal.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Match Information
Opponent: Northern Illinois
Location: Husky Field (DeKalb, Illinois)
Time: Sunday at 2 p.m.
Where to Watch: ESPN+
Follow live stats here.
Ohio Notes
While Ohio has played at a winning level through its non-conference games, the team stuttered a bit in its first conference opponent. Ohio’s defense played well, but its offense was more silent than usual. The team couldn’t score more than two goals for the first time since playing Michigan State just under a month ago. While this may have slowed the Bobcats’ hot streak, they still have not lost in their last five games and have not given up more than one goal in a game through that period.
Against each other, Ohio leads against Northern Illinois with a record of 8-4-1 and won its last matchup last year with a score of 3-1. Ohio also has more shots, shots on goal and goals scored than Northern Illinois in their matchups. If Ohio goes back to playing its game, it will set itself up well against Northern Illinois.
Opponent Notes
Last season, Northern Illinois finished fifth in the MAC standings and made it to the MAC tournament. It was bounced out of the tournament’s first round after being shut out by Kent State. In the team’s first conference game against Miami it tied, allowing Miami to equalize the score late in the second half.
This season, Northern Illinois' only loss was to No. 16 Notre Dame, who was ranked No. 9 at the time of the game, by a score of 0-4. Northern Illinois has also played two of the same teams Ohio has played, beating Valparaiso 2-1 and Oakland 1-0. Ohio beat Valparaiso 5-0 and Oakland 7-0. Northern Illinois has 112 shots and 57 shots on goal while scoring 18 goals this year.
Player to Watch: Eve Berish
Junior midfielder Berish has started for Ohio in every game this year, scoring two goals. She is fourth on the team in shots, tied for fourth in shots on goal, and fourth on the team for minutes played. She has a knack for finding open shots and allowing Ohio to score. Last year, Berish played in all 22 games for Ohio, starting in 18 of them. She brings experience to the team because she played in every game. She will look to continue helping Ohio this weekend against Northern Illinois.
