Freshman forward Stephanie Rowland scores a game-winning goal in the 105th minute of Ohio's 2-1 win against Northern Illinois.
Ohio coach Aaron Rodgers finally got a win over Northern Illinois on Friday evening, but it wasn’t easy.
“NIU is a very difficult team to play against,” Rodgers said. “They pose a lot of physical problems. We had plenty of chances and we finally put one in. This was the first time we got to rush the field and dogpile and that is an exciting feeling.”
Ohio (4-6, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) powered through treacherous conditions to beat NIU in double-overtime, 2-1, giving Rodgers his first win over the Huskies during his tenure at Ohio.
The Huskies (2-8, 1-2 MAC) opened up scoring in the 52nd minute when sophomore defender Celeste Fushimi-Karns conceded a free kick on the left side of the box. NIU's Lauren Gierman then shot low and between the wall of defenders to goalie Taylor Smith’s left.
Seven minutes later the Bobcats rallied back to equalize.
Forward Stephanie Rowland dribbled down the left flank and made a cut toward the top of the penalty box. Just inside the box was junior forward Alexis Milesky who received the pass from Rowland, and, with a quick turn to the right, she shot left of the keeper to finish far post, scoring her third goal of the season.
Through the remainder of regulation, Ohio fought for a go-ahead goal but couldn’t connect. As the rain and wind picked up, the pace of the game slowed and after 90 minutes, the score was even.
But in the 105th minute, Rowland finally connected for her fourth goal of the season.
"I just knew I wanted to get the goal," Rowland said. "We wanted to pull out a win and it just happened to me to score the goal."
After making several runs down either side of the pitch and taking shots just inside the box, none connected. That is until she received a cross from Holly Harris on the right side of the box and chipped a shot to the upper left corner of the goal to seal the victory over NIU.
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“We went in four overtime games last year and we lost every one of them,” Rodgers said. “My first year we had five overtime games and drew every one of them, so in my tenure here, this is first overtime victory we’ve had."
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