RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky soccer battled against Northern Illinois in the season opener, ultimately coming up short by a score of 2-1 at the EKU Soccer Field on Thursday night.

With the loss, EKU moves to 0-1-0 on the season.
 
"Credit to NIU, we told our team to expect the best punch that Northern Illinois was going to give," said head coach Matt Cosinuke. "New head coach, new staff, a lot of new players, a lot of belief, they took advantage in the second minute, scoring off a long throw, something we haven't seen at this point in the season. You don't know a lot about the opposition heading into the first match, we have to figure that out as we go. It's a long season, a lot of our goals are in reach, we believe in this team, we just have to find the best versions of ourselves and believe in the process."
 
Northern Illinois jumped the Colonels in the first two minutes, NIU's Jordyn King threw the ball into the box, which found the foot of Abby McHugh, who attempted a shot on goal that was saved by EKU's Lauren Seedlock. 
 
The Huskies would quickly recover as Reegan Kingpavong found the ball off the rebound to net the first goal of the match and give NIU a 1-0 lead.
 
After the initial goal by the Huskies, Eastern Kentucky would go almost 20 minutes before attempting a shot near the frame, as senior Audrey Anderson struck a ball that just missed the top of the crossbar.
 
From the 37th minute to halftime, the Colonels shifted momentum and fired off four shots, two on frame, neither finding the net. Junior Katie Wall struck a ball to the bottom left that was saved by NIU keeper Deighton Walmer, senior Maddy Lemery narrowly missed out top, and sophomore Gretta Gunn fired a laser that was rejected.
 
NIU closed out the half with a 1-0 lead over EKU and the edge in shot attempts with a 7-6 advantage.
 
Six minutes out of the break, the Colonels would equalize at one off a long throw into the box that pinged off two Huskie defenders before finding senior Myla Sharpless, who used her right foot and slipped the ball past the keeper for the first EKU goal of the season.
 
In the 61st minute, Northern Illinois would reclaim the lead with a goal by Lea Gruennagel, a 25-yard strike that hit the bottom of the crossbar and crossed the goal line for a 2-1 NIU lead.
 
One minute later, Sharpless attempted her second equalizer of the match, but found the gloves of Walmer in the bottom center of the goal.
 
The Colonels would go on to fire off three shots in the final 28 minutes of play, however, none of those shots found the inside of the frame and Northern Illinois revenged a 3-1 Colonels win from a season ago.
 
EKU wrapped up the season opener with the advantage in shots (11-9), corner kicks (3-1), and possession (53 percent).
 
The Colonels will hit the road this weekend for their first road test of the season against Chattanooga on Sunday, Aug. 21. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET and can be viewed on ESPN+.