MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's soccer dropped its second-straight Summit League match, losing to North Dakota State, 2-1, Sunday, Oct. 18.
The Bison (7-6-2, 4-1-0 Summit League) scored the game-winner just over a minute in to the second half when Candice D'Arcangeli found Quin Ryan with a pass and Ryan put the ball into the net for her second goal of the day. The Fighting Leathernecks saw their record drop to 4-7-2 overall and 1-3-1 in The Summit League.
"I thought overall we played well today," Western Illinois head coach Tony Guinn said. "We had some unfortunate bounces go against us but we ended up with plenty of scoring chances late. We just didn't get it done today, we need to finish plays a little better."
North Dakota State struck first when Abbey Stratton sent a corner kick into the box which Ryan collected and put in to the lower righthand corner of the net in the 10th minute.
The Leathernecks would respond in the 31st minute when Nora Potempa sent a free kick into the box that Ali Smyth headed in for her second goal of the season to draw the match even at a goal apiece.
The Bison would hold Western scoreless the rest of the way to pick up their fourth conference win, bringing them into a tie with IUPUI atop The Summit League standings.
North Dakota State outshot the Leathernecks by a 14 to 10 margin, including an eight to give advantage in shots on goal. Western had four corners to NDSU's three and the Bison committed 19 fouls to the Leathernecks' seven.
Leatherneck goalkeeper Laura Atkinson made six saves in her third straight start.
Western Illinois will hit the road for two more league matches this weekend. The Leathernecks will face Centenary at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23 before heading to Tulsa, Okla. for a match against Oral Roberts at 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 25.
"We just need to move on from the loss today and focus on our next task," Guinn said. "We've got a big road trip coming up and we need to do well. We had a good result on our last road trip with a win and a tie so hopefully that will carry over this time."
The Leathernecks will return home against IPFW at 3:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30.
