DeKALB – Lindsey Curnock broke the Mid-American Conference career shutout record Sunday, when she lead the Northern Illinois women's soccer team to a 0-0 draw against defending MAC champions Toledo at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Sunday's shutout marked Curnock's 28th career shutout , a notch that places her as the MAC career shutout record holder.
In Sunday's contest Curnock recorded five saves for the Huskies, marking her third shutout of the season. The 0-0 score allowed Curnock to get the MAC record for career shutouts, with 28.
"It's a really big honor to break the record," Curnock said. "The record has my name on it, but I think I have the record because of our defense. All four years I have been here our defense has been solid and I think that is has allowed me to be able to get such an honor."
NIU coach Carrie Barker feels the record is a great accomplishment for Curnock.
"Lindsey always shows great leadership," Barker said. "She came up huge today. She played great defense today, she had some key saves for us, and I think they way she played today shows why she was able to get the record."
Allowing only seven goals this season, Curnock has a .67 goals-against-average. Curnock has recorded 40 saves this season, bringing her career total to 249.
"During the season I treat every game the same," said Curnock. "I don't think about records or anything like that. I like to take each game one at a time, and I think that is what has helped me get such an accomplishment."
The Huskies and Rockets battled to a scoreless finish, Sunday, as each team recorded eight shots but were unable to score on any of its opportunities. The Huskies held a 7-2 advantage in cornerkicks in the contest, while the Rockets recorded five shots-on-goal (SOG) to the NIU's one. Kelsey Passaglia recorded the Huskies lone SOG in the contest.
"We all knew that when you face a great team like Toledo you have to come out and play your best," said Barker. "When you have opportunities to score against a good team you have to put them away, and we did not do that today."
In a physical battle between NIU and Toledo, NIU racked up 16 fouls, while Toledo recorded 14 fouls in the match-up. Passaglia and Nici Newquist each received yellow cards in the contest.
The Huskies now have a 4-4-2 record, with a 0-0-2 record in MAC play.
