NIU controlled the pace throughout the first half but was kept off the board. In the second half, Akron was able to get chances but a counterattack from NIU set up the game winning goal in the 78th minute as Kingpavong ran into the corner of the box and slotted the ball past the Zips goalkeeper Maxima Carlitz.
“I’m really proud of the team. We’ve had a rough month of September. And we were pretty low there in terms of confidence to find a goal,” NIU head coach Michael O’Neill said. “We kept believing so today we felt like we definitely turned the corner with that win.”
Kingpavong scored her first goal since 2022, when an injury cost her the final games of the season.
“A year ago, she tore her ACL and she faced some pretty tough days in terms of what her future held with it being such a long-term injury,” O’Neill said. “She decided to come back, and wanted to come back, and play the game that she loves and fought her way back to recovery this past year. She stepped on that field today and when it mattered most, she delivered and I’m really, really proud of her.”
The match was sealed in the final minute as the Zips fought to even the match. Akron’s Kiana Harsh shot the ball right toward the top corner of the net. NIU goalie Sadie McGill (Fort Worth, Texas / L.D. Bell) made a dive back towards the corner of the net and got an outstretched hand on the ball to tip it off the crossbar and out of bounds.
“It was a top hand save on a shot going into the top corner, that was a pretty special save,” O’Neill said.
The ensuing corner was cleared by the Huskies as the final seconds ticked off.
NIU (3-5-3, 1-2-1) had 19 shots in the match with eight on goal, while Akron (2-9, 0-4-0) had nine shots with two on goal.
McGill made saves on both of Akron’s shots on target in a winning effort while picking up another clean sheet. Today was McGill’s fourth clean sheet of the 2023 campaign.
Carlitz made seven saves for the Zips while allowing the match’s lone goal to Kingpavong.
After a scoreless first half, where NIU led 11-1 in shots, Akron was able to tie the Huskies in shots in the second half with eight each.
Both teams saw their chances stopped by McGill and Carlitz before the 78th minute when Lea Gruennagel (Homberg, Germany) got the ball in the NIU half. She passed the ball up the field to senior co-captain Abby Zipse (Batavia, Ill. / Batavia) who found Kingpavong with space. Kingpavong ran to the corner of the box and beat Carlitz for the late lead.
NIU was able to keep the lead in the closing minutes as a McGill save denied Zips’ best opportunity of the match.
The Huskies will stay on the road on Thursday, Oct. 5, as they travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., and take on Eastern Michigan.