KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan defeated Northern Illinois on Thursday evening at the WMU Soccer Complex to become the first women's soccer team in MAC history to finish back-to-back seasons with an undefeated conference record.

WMU's 1-0 win capped off an 11-1-6 overall regular season, including an 8-0-3 mark in MAC play. Callie Cunningham tallied the lone goal of the game, while Jen Blitchok and Jenna Blackburn picked up assists. Goalkeeper Lauren Boafo made two saves to earn her eighth shutout of the season. 

FIRST HALF
June Mullen and Blackburn both had great looks in the opening few minutes. Both missed just over the crossbar. However, not too long after that, Cunningham was able to put the Brown and Gold in front with a goal in the 14th minute. Blitchok and Blackburn picked up assists on the goal. 

Following that, NIU got its first shot on net. Boafo was there to make the stop for WMU. About 10 minutes later, Blitchok took aim at the net and had a chance saved by Huskies goalkeeper Ary Purifoy. 

A little bit after that, Abby Werthman nearly made it 2-0. She broke free to the net, but the play was called offside. Down the stretch of the first half, Northern Illinois had one more look on net saved by Boafo. The Broncos carried a one-goal lead into the second 45 minutes of play. 

SECOND HALF
Blackburn kicked off a flurry of chances for WMU in the opening minutes of the second half. Her shot was saved by Purifoy to keep the score 1-0 in favor of the home team. A few minutes later, Blitchok and Maya Dean had shots go off target. 

NIU found some offensive life in the 66th minute, as the Huskies had a shot miss just wide left of the net. From there, Werthman ripped another shot on goal that was saved by the Huskies. 

Brooke Bailey had the best chance of the second half for the Brown and Gold. She found some space in the open field and fired a shot off of the right post. NIU was able to collect the ball and clear it away. The WMU offense wasn't done there, as Blitchok nearly fired a shot by Purifoy for a 2-0 lead. She was able to collect the chance and keep it a one-goal game. 

Down the stretch, WMU would limit NIU's chances and create some more offense. After a pair of WMU shots, Tyra King got the Huskies' last chance of the game, which missed over the top of the net. Western Michigan closed out a 1-0 win to finish off the regular season with an undefeated MAC record. 

UP NEXT
WMU will host the semifinals and finals of the MAC Tournament. The semis are set for Nov. 7, while the championship will be played on Nov. 10. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.