The NKU women’s soccer team wore pink for breast cancer awareness, students and other fans alike wore pink in support, on a chilly Thursday evening. The Norse hosted Purdue Fort Wayne, and hoped to get another win in Horizon league play to keep their unbeaten streak alive.
In the first half, NKU came out steam rolling with a shot just 20 seconds into the game by Kaya Vogt. NKU defense was huge in the first half, not letting Purdue Fort Wayne get a shot or even near the goal. After five shots, the Norse finally got their opportunity on the sixth shot in the 29th minute. A great cross into the box by Sofia Wilmes created a dangerous chance from Megan Molner. As the ball got batted by Purdue Fort Wayne’s goalie Jordan Imes. The ball found the back of the net with an own goal headed in by Purdue Fort Wayne making the game 1-0.
The Norse kept up their great play both offensively and defensively. Greta Harmeyer had a shot on goal from outside the box, causing the ball to curve towards the top left corner of the goal. However, it did not find the back of the net and skimmed off the side post. The Norse created eight shots, while locking down defensively and not letting Purdue Fort Wayne near the goal.
The second half was about the same for NKU with great plays on both sides of the ball. The Norse kept the shots firing with a shot from Shay Shipley in the 76th minute that almost found the back of the net, but was saved by Imes. That was the last shot NKU would have for the game, but in the 89th minute Purdue Fort Wayne would get two more shots up with one being saved by Tristan Cross and the other shot not connecting and going out of bounds. This ended the game and resulted in the Norse coming out on top 1-0.
NKU fired shots at all cylinders versus Purdue Fort Wayne, holding a 16-2 advantage in total shots and an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal. Between the posts, Cross had a clean sheet playing the full 90 minutes. Caitlin Evans played all 90 minutes, She led the Norse with a pair of shots on goal. The women will move to 3-1-1 in Horizon League play and Improve their unbeaten streak to four. Their next game is against IU-Indy on Sunday, Oct. 13 in Highland Heights at 1 p.m.