KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trailing at halftime, the Western Michigan women's soccer team used a strong second half to defeat Northern Illinois, 2-1, on Thursday afternoon at the WMU Soccer Complex. With the result, the Broncos finish regular-season play 12-6-1 overall and 6-4-1 in Mid-American Conference play and will begin their MAC Tournament Title defense on Sunday at home against Miami at 1 p.m.

With MAC Conference Tournament seeding to be clinched, the Broncos played their final regular-season match with the opportunity to bump into fourth place overall in the conference. The Ball State victory over Miami and the Western Michigan victory this afternoon, paved the way as WMU will host the MAC quarterfinals. Game day is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 30^th, at 1 p.m. against the number five seed, Miami.

Highlighting the victory, forwards Candice Uhl and Alex Ruffer tallied a goal apiece for the Broncos while senior forward Mackenzie Barber dished out both assists.
 
"I am very happy with how we played today," commented WMU head coach Lauren Sinacola. "Though NIU scored an early goal, I felt the team did a great job creating opportunities and keeping possession of the ball for the majority of the game. The team really turned things around in the second half of the MAC regular season which gives us strong momentum heading into the tournament."

How it Happened:
The Huskies capitalized early in the third minute when a corner kick was sent into the Bronco box. As the ball bounced around the six-yard box, a Huskie defender was able to give NIU the early 1-0 lead. 

As the Broncos maintained most of possession in the first half, WMU was unable to connect on any of their three goal-scoring opportunities. The biggest chance for Western Michigan occurred in the 35^th minute as midfielder Liz Abro connected her head on the ball off a Bronco corner. The ball went sailing to the far right post but hit the post and bounced out.

Neither team capitalized during the remaining of the first, as the Broncos went into halftime holding a 10-3 shot advantage and a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks but trailed 1-0. Highlighting her four saves in the first, Western Michigan goalkeeper Stephanie Heber delivered back-to-back dangerous goal-scoring chances in the 32^nd minute.

The Broncos turned up the heat in the second half, scoring immediately from forward Ruffer. The junior received a beautiful Mackenzie Barber service right at the penalty kick spot. The composed forward took a touch and placed the ball past the NIU keeper to even the score at one apiece. The goal was Ruffer's second of the season and just two minutes into the second half.

With MAC tournament seeding at stake, veteran Uhl recorded the game-winner in the 84^th minute for the Broncos. Barber served her second great cross into the box as the ball came to Uhl. The senior finished the goal and recorded her fourth of the season as the Broncos took the 2-1 lead.

The Broncos played stiff defense in the remaining six minutes of regulation holding the Huskies, preserving the 2-1 victory and taking the number four seed heading into the MAC tournament, Sunday.

Following the exciting victory, Western Michigan produced 21 shots placing eight on frame compared to the Huskies producing 12 shots and placing eight on net. WMU held the 12-5 advantage in corner kicks during the afternoon. Goalkeeper Heber was called upon to make four saves to help with the win as the redshirt junior is now 11-3-0 this season.