CHICAGO – For the first time this season, UIC went to overtime after battling back to tie the game on a goal from Rebeca Pallo, but it could not stifle Northern Illinois, who scored the golden goal in the 103rd minute to take the 2-1 win Wednesday night at Flames Field.
 
The Flames fired off a season-high 20 shots and matched their most shots on goal with eight. Olivia Everin led the effort with five shots, followed by four attempts from Pallo and three apiece for Emily Valentine and Keri Birkenhead. Of the eight attempts on target, Valentine (3) and Pallo (2) executed more than half.
 
While the UIC defense kept the Huskies to 12 shots, eight of them reaches target and forced Kelly Fritz to make six saves while playing the complete game.
 
The Flames maintained a majority of control in the first half and were able to turn out eight shots with two reaching on goal as the Huskies were held to four attempts, but all were on goal. On NIU's third shot of the game in the 12th minute, Lauren Gierman dished the ball off to Taylor Sarver to put it in the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
UIC gathered a string of great looks starting in the 23rd minute when Birkenhead had her shot saved followed by an attempt from Valentine off a corner kick that was stopped and a shot sent wide from Everin. The Flames kept the ball on their feet but only had two more shots the rest of the half.
 
In the second stanza, UIC continued to muster up shots, outshooting the Huskies, 10-5, and having two of its first three looks come on goal from Valentine and Everin. It was in the 68th minute that the Flames found the equalizer as Morgan Carey fed the ball to Pallo and she buried it home for her first goal of the season. Pallo almost had the go-ahead tally 12 minutes later but an NIU defender sent the ball away.
 
In the final five minutes, Tamae Douglas tabbed her two shots of the game as one went high and another forced a diving save.
 
The defensive effort of UIC in the first overtime period prevented the Huskies from reaching goal as they blocked a pair of shots and several pass attempts. Two shots came from the Flames in the final three minutes off headers sent wide from Pallo and Birkenhead.
 
Just three minutes into double overtime, NIU was set up with a corner kick, taken by Gierman as she sent the ball in and connected with the head of Natalia Pena for the game-winner.
 
UIC is back at Flames Field on Friday to face Chicago State at 7 p.m. and will close out its homestand Sunday against SIUE at 1 p.m.