HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- The Western Michigan women's soccer team used Jen Blitchok's late goal to defeat Northern Kentucky, 1-0, in the season-opening game at the NKU Soccer Stadium earlier tonight. The lone goal of the game came off of a corner kick and was served into the box by Abby Werthman. Blitchok did the rest and moved the Broncos to 1-0 overall on the season. 

"Tonight was definitely a great test for us and one that we get a lot better from," head coach Lewis Robinson said. "We didn't really get going until the second half but then played some good stuff and had some nice moments in attack. The players showed a real level of grit to find a way to get the goal and it feels good to come away with a win and a solid performance!"

FIRST HALF
Neither team would find a shot in the opening six minutes of the game. However, Madi Canada was able to put a shot on net six and a half minutes into the contest. Not long after, Lauren Boafo was able to make her first save of the night, keeping things even at 0-0 early in the contest. 

As the game moved to the middle portion of the first half, Western Michigan started to carry play and would find a great chance with Blitchok having her shot sent away by Mickayla Kowalski at the midway point of the first 45 minutes. WMU's leading returning goal scorer, Jenna Blackburn, got in on the offensive action later in the half, sending a shot at Kowalski that was collected and sent the other way. The Brown and Gold secured a corner kick with time dwindling in the first half, but nothing would come of it, and the two teams went to halftime tied at 0-0. 

SECOND HALF
The Broncos came out aggressive in the second 45 minutes, with Blitchok having a shot finger tipped over the net by Kowalski in the opening minutes. Later in the period, Blackburn's shot nailed the right post and was sent away from danger by the Norse. 

As time ticked down in the final half, the Broncos applied one last stretch of pressure, with Werthman's shot being saved out of play. That led to a WMU corner. Werthman sent a beautiful corner kick into the box, and Blitchok buried the shot into the center of the net to give WMU at 1-0 lead with just five minutes to play. 

The Norse had limited time to try and tie the game, but Boafo was up to the challenge, making a save on the Norse's lone shot of the final five minutes. Boafo ended the game with three saves. 

The Broncos dominated the game in multiple areas, topping the Norse in shots on goal (6-3), corner kicks (10-5) and total shots (11-4). 

UP NEXT
Western Michigan will travel to Eastern Kentucky on Sunday for a 1 PM start. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+.