The Jackrabbits finally got the shot they’ve been looking for this season.

The SDSU soccer team defeated Northern Illinois Sunday afternoon as Caylee Costello knocked in a header to top the Huskies 2-1 in the final two minutes of the game. The Jackrabbits improved to (2-2-2) while the Huskies fall to (2-3). 

“Even though we had a fair amount of opportunities to win it earlier, the way we won it in the last couple minutes I think really gave the team a boost of relief,” Head coach Lang Wedemeyer said. “That they can win these tight games.”

Alyssa Brazil took charge right away scoring just 12 minutes into the first half. 

“We’ve struggled with scoring in the first half of games, it’s only happened once before when we played Lamar,” Wedemeyer said. “So it was great to get that first goal.”

Megan Kingston was able to get the pass by a Northern Illinois defender to Brazil who put it in the back of the net. Brazil scored her third goal of the year.

“We’ve moved her into more of her natural position at mid-field versus where she was more as a forward,” Wedemeyer said. “She is doing a very good job for us creating goal-scoring opportunities out of the mid-field.”

A comfortable lead can be everything a coach needs, Wedemeyer believes an early goal puts them in the driver’s seat.

“I think if we can score earlier in the game that gives us a little more confidence and put us in the driver’s seat,” Wedemeyer said. “In the first couple games against Iowa State and Loyola we had to fight to come back and that takes a lot more energy to do that consistently as opposed to scoring and forcing the other team to come out and attack more.”

Northern Illinois notched the game up in the 35th minute as Sara Spaulding landed her first goal of the year on Nicole Inskeep. It is the first goal allowed against the Jackrabbits since Aug. 25 against Loyola, 17-9. Costollo was close to making a goal just before the half but the Huskies escaped as Shelby Raper came within striking a goal as well but time had run out for the freshman before the ball crossed the plain.

The Jacks remained tied with the Huskies going into the second half but would go on to out-shoot the Huskies by game’s end, 17-9. The offense intensified in the second half but the Huskies goalkeeper Amy Carr kept the Jacks from scoring with her eight saves by game’s end. Inskeep recorded threes saves of her own to keep SDSU in it as she has so well up to this point all year long.

Brazil executed the corner kick for the Jackrabbits and placed it where only Costello could get it and she put it in the lower left corner past a diving Carr. The goal was Costollo’s second of the season.

“We got to play our best game,” Wedemeyer said. “It’s always a close game, a tight game, and it’s a good rivalry.”

SDSU will travel to Iowa this weekend to take on Drake on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.