Akron Set to Battle Northern Illinois

Thursday, September 25

DeKalb, Ill.

8:00 PM ET

University of Akron

Northern Illinois

September 24 | Women's Soccer

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron women's soccer team visits DeKalb, Ill., to battle Northern Illinois in 8 p.m. ET showdown on Thursday (Sept. 25) with the Huskies.

GAME INFO
Akron at Northern Illinois | Sept. 25 | 8 PM ET | DeKalb, Ill. | Live Stats | Live Video

HEAD COACHES
Northern Illinois: Michael O'Neill (Tiffin), Overall Record: 102-77-27 (12th Season), Record at NIU: 25-25-14 (Fourth Season)
Akron: Maggie Kuhn (Bethany, 2004), Overall Record: 81-86-15 (10th Season), Record at Akron: 3-3-2 (First Season)

SCOUTING AKRON
The Zips earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Ohio on Sunday (Sept. 21) to move to 3-3-2 on the campaign, including 0-1-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

Freshman Addison Hall (Manchester, Conn.) registered her team-leading third goal of the season at Ohio (Sept. 21), while seniors Emma King (Akron, Ohio) and Kylie Schiemann (Geneva, Ohio) along with freshmen Fineen Cregan (Rochester, N.Y.), Luisa Fragnoli (Medina, Ohio) and Olivia Pilato (Rochester, N.Y.) have each tallied two, one, one, one and one goal, respectively. King directs the squad in shots (17) and shots on goal (10). Cregan and junior Jordanne Oberhaus (Wadsworth, Ohio) own a team-best three assists apiece for Akron. Junior goalkeeper Sara Bower (Cincinnati, Ohio) and redshirt freshman GK Ariana Vakos (Avon, Ohio) own 28 and nine saves, respectively, on the campaign en route to posting three shutouts and recording a 1.38 goals against average.

The Zips under the leadership of first-year head coach Maggie Kuhn return six starters in 2025, including sophomores Kailyn Biecker (Wadsworth, Ohio) and Olivia Heskett (Lewis Center, Ohio), King, Oberhaus, sophomore Kaitlyn Rogowski (Hilliard, Ohio) and redshirt sophomore Rachel Wenzel (Akron, Ohio).

Akron is led by team captains Bower and seniors Kaylen Goddard (Mechanicsville, Md.) and King as well as fellow returning players Schiemann, junior Emalee Szablewski (Lancaster, N.Y.) and sophomores Addison Lambert (Galena, Ohio), Allie McMillen (Shreve, Ohio), Eesha Sutharshan (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Vakos.

The Zips are bolstered by a talented 11-member 2025 signing class, which includes eight freshmen and three transfers.

The Zips boast 11 newcomers to the squad as donning the Akron uniform this fall will be senior Rielly Chesna (Chicago, Ill.), junior Lilly Touhey (Fishers, Ind.), sophomore Taylor Allen (Blacksburg, Va.) and freshmen Freya Blatz (Bethel Park, Pa.), Fiona Buczak (Brunswick, Ohio), Cregan, Fragnoli, Hall, Bailey Kerins (Dublin, Ohio), Pilato and Devyn Raymond (Shelby Township, Mich.).

AKRON NOTES
• Akron is meeting Northern Illinois for the 24th time in program history with the Huskies leading the series 10-9-4.
• Seventeen of the 23 matches between Akron and Northern Illinois have resulted in a shutout, with the Zips posting six wins and three draws in those matches.
• Akron has scored two or more goals in seven all-time meetings with Northern Illinois.
• Five of the last 10 meetings between the two schools have resulted in a shutout.
• Akron has won back-to-back games at Northern Illinois dating back to the 2018 campaign.
• Emma King ranks fourth in program history in goals per tilt (.25) and points per game (.60), seventh in game-winning goals (4), eighth in career goals (12) and points (29), 10th in assists per match (.104) and 11th in career assists (5).
• Sara Bower ranks sixth in shutouts (5) and eighth in goals against average (1.70), career saves (134) and goalie victories (7).
• Addison Hall's two-goal effort versus Southern Indiana represented the first brace for an Akron freshman King netted a pair of tallies in a 5-0 win past Toledo on Oct. 23, 2022, at FirstEnergy Stadium.
• Akron leads in the conference in attendance, while ranking 78th nationally averaging 601 fans per contest.
• King leads Akron's active leaders in career goals (12), assists (5), points (29), shots (79), shots on goal (44) and game-winners (4), while Bower paces active Zips in career saves (134), goals against average (1.70) and save percentage (.740).
• The Zips rank third in the Mid-American Conference in shutouts (3) and fourth in assists per tilt (1.25).
• King is rated first in the MAC in game-winners (2), sixth in shots on goal (1.25) and eighth in shots (2.13) per game, while Bower is second in shutouts (3), fourth in saves per game (4.00) and ninth in save percentage (.757). Additionally, Fineen Cregan is ranked second in assists (3) and in assists per match (0.38), Hall is sixth in total goals (3), eighth in points (7) and points per outing (.88) and ninth in goals per contest (.38) and Jordanne Oberhaus is ranked second in assists (3) and in assists per match (0.38).
• Bower's nine-save performance at Dayton (Sept. 12) stands as a conference-best single-game effort this season.
• Hall's five-point effort (2 goal | 1 assist) and two-goal match versus Southern Indiana (Aug. 24) represent single-game league-high performance in 2025.
• Cregan posted a league-high two assists in Akron's 5-3 win over Southern Indiana (Aug. 24).
• Akron registered single-game MAC-leading marks in points (15), goals (5) and assists (5) versus Southern Indiana (Aug. 24), while tallying a conference-best nine saves at Dayton (Sept. 12).
• Six different Zips have scored a goal this season, including four newcomers.
• Fourteen Zips have registered a shot this season, including six newcomers.
• The Zips saw their shutout streak snapped after seven consecutive non-conference regular season contests with a 3-0 setback at West Virginia (Aug. 21). Akron went 5-0-2 mark in those contests and outshot the opposition, 84-70. Bower posted 19 saves in those games, while King added a team-best 15 shots with nine falling on frame.
• The Zips posted shutouts in seven consecutive non-conference contests and didn't surrender a goal in those games in more than 800 minutes (802:16).
• Ariana Vakos made her collegiate debut in the second half at West Virginia (Aug. 21) recording a pair of saves.
• A trio of newcomers earned their first career start at Akron against Purdue Fort Wayne in Rielly Chesna, Luisa Fragnoli and Lilly Touhey. Overall, eight newcomers have appeared for the Zips this season.
• The Zips recorded the squad's initial seven-game unbeaten streak since 2007 in 2024. The unbeaten streak matched the longest in program history set during both the 2006 and 2007 campaigns.
• Akron matched its 2006 squad as the only Zips' teams to post an unbeaten record in non-conference play.
• Akron posted the second most shutouts in a non-conference campaign in school history, trailing only the 2006 squad that registered six straight to open the 2006 season.
• Akron posted five consecutive shutouts for the first time since the 2009 campaign.
• The four 1-0 clean sheet victories last season represented the second-highest total in program history matching identical marks in 2007, 2009 and 2011. The 2006 Akron team holds the top mark with six 1-0 wins.
• The six shutouts by the Zips were the most for Akron in a season since posting seven in the 2011 campaign.

FOUR ZIPS HONORED ON SENIOR DAY
The Zips' contest versus Green Bay on Aug. 31 marked Senior Day for four Zips as seniors Rielly Chesna, Kaylen Goddard, Emma King and Kylie Schiemann were honored in pregame ceremonies.

In her first season at Akron, Chesna has started six games for the Zips, en route to registering an assist, while sparking the squad to a pair of shutouts.

Goddard has appeared in 51 contests, including 39 starts, en route to recording 11 shots, with three shots coming on goal, and leading Akron to 13 shutouts over her career.

King has appeared in 48 contests, including 41 starts, en route to collecting a team-best 12 goals, five assists, 29 points and four game-winners fueled by 79 shots, including 44 on goal.

Schiemann has appeared in 40 contests, including 16 starts, en route to registering a goal and an assist on the strength of 16 shots, with nine shots falling on frame.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois enters play against Akron at 2-4-2 on the campaign, including 0-1-1 in the Mid-American Conference following a 1-1 draw at Toledo on Sept. 18.

The Huskies are led by junior Tyra King, who owns team-high marks in goals (2), points (4) and game-winners (1), while sophomore Alyssa Stephenson paces the squad in shots (14), shots on goal (8) and game-winners (1). Sophomore GK Lauren Pearson has posted 8 saves en route to collecting a 1.20 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY
Akron and Northern Illinois are meeting for the 24th time in program history with Huskies leading the series, 10-9-4.

IN OUR LAST MEETING (OCT. 13, 2024 – AKRON, OHIO)
Akron got a brace from Katie Stafford in a 2-2 Mid-American Conference draw against Northern Illinois on Oct. 13, 2024, at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Akron opened the scoring in the affair when Stafford connected on a goal in the 11th minute (10:40), assisted by Quinn Casey and Jordanne Oberhaus.

With seven seconds remaining in the first half the clock was stopped for a Northern Illinois corner kick that resulted in Sophia White knotting the contest at one with a goal with one second remaining in the opening stanza. The tally was assisted by Jordyn Saddler.

Northern Illinois then broke the tie contest on Tyra King's goal at the 47:28 mark.

The Zips leveled it at 2-2 when Stafford delivered her second goal of the afternoon on a successful penalty kick.

UP NEXT
Akron hosts Miami at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 28) at FirstEnergy Stadium.