Annie Wyer couldn’t help but smile after the Huskies’ 4-0 win over Oakland (2-5-0) on Friday.

“God, it’s nice,” said the junior midfielder.

The offensive explosion continued on Sunday as NIU (4-4-0) knocked off the Liberty Flames (1-6-0) 2-1.

“It was a great weekend,” NIU head coach Carrie Barker said. “We are right where we want to be,”

After only scoring twice in their first six games the Huskies’ offense came out strong as Lisa Maier netted her first of two goals of the season. The first came on a full out sprint in which she lobbed the ball over Oakland goalkeeper Whitney Sarkis moments before colliding with her.

“I didn’t even know if I had scored or not,” Maier said. “My teammates had to tell me.”
Maier took a knee to the stomach and was on the ground for several minutes before walking off under her own power.

“She was committed to go through a wall to get that goal,” Barker said. “It set the tone for the game.”

The Oakland defense struggled to keep up as Maier netted her second goal early in the second half. Kim Schmitt and Danielle Janowiak added goals of their own in the final 10 minutes.

“We made a couple of mistakes and they took full advantage of them,” Oakland head coach Nick O’Shea.

The Huskies continued to take advantage of opponent’s mistakes on Sunday as NIU scored twice in the first half on crosses deep in the Flames’ zone. Senior defender Micaela Damas recorded her first collegiate goal and added an assist on freshmen Nici Newquist’s goal.

Liberty battled back in the second half out shooting NIU 7-2. Flames forward Silvia Betancourt netted Liberty’s lone goal with a long shot over the outstretched arms of goalie Lindsey Curnock.

“We let up for one second and they made us pay for it,” Barker said. “But conference play starts next week and everyone is stepping up their game at the right time.”

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