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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team beat Harding University 2-0 Tuesday evening at DeLoache Field.

The RiverHawks (5-3) posted their second straight clean sheet in a non-conference matchup against the Bisons (1-8). Northeastern State has defeated Harding in five straight matches and has outscored HU 16-1 since 2010.

Melissa Giles put NSU on the scoreboard in the 39th minute when she dribbled around a defender and then beat the goalkeeper by shooting the ball low into the back of the net. Giles struck again in the 62nd minute to push the lead to two goals. Collecting the ball from an Anastasia Robinson pass, the freshman forward was able to carry the ball around both a defender and the goalkeeper to pick up the insurance marker. It was the second two-goal match of the season for Giles. She leads the RiverHawks with four goals.  

NSU held a dominant 17-8 shot advantage over the Lady Bisons. The RiverHawks also had a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (5-3) earned her third clean sheet of the season and improved her school record to 13 career shutouts. She had four saves in 90 minutes.

Northeastern State will next resume conference play against Emporia State Oct. 3. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. at DeLoache Field

Scoring Summary 
HU        0   0   -   0
NSU      1   1   -   2
 
Individual Scoring
Melissa Giles (NSU) at 38:56 (unassisted)
Melissa Giles (NSU) at 61:06 (unassisted)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Kaitlyn Miller (HU) – 6
Jordan Woodruff (NSU) – 4
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH CHASE WOOTEN
Opening statement…
"I thought in Missouri over the weekend we just kind of hung around and lost a little bit of who we were as a team. Tonight we really wanted to get back and play a little bit more to feet and find combination plays. We had our moments. We're still a little inexperienced playing together, but we certainly had good windows where we broke them down. That was a positive from where we were even 48 hours ago. I think just being at home, in front of our home crowd, on our home surface, we looked a little bit more like ourselves again."
 
On confidence in defense and goalkeeping after two straight shutouts…
"We're good enough in goal that if we ask Jordan [Woodruff] to make three or four big time saves, she's usually good for it. It's when we put her under wild duress that quirky things happen. We're blessed in that situation because she's a great goalkeeper for us. Our team knows it, we all believe in her, and we all know she can handle her business. We've got to be realistic as well. We've got to follow marks when things fall off the crossbar. We talked about that in pregame. We've got to do a good job to help keep a shutout. It takes a team effort, not just one big-time goalkeeper."
 
On more players getting playing time…
"I think we have lots of good, young players. It's just a matter of how many can we play at one time together. We're surviving it, and tonight I thought we even thrived with it. I thought our freshmen were really part of the difference. We got [Katelin] Teter in, we got [Kelsey] Fisher in, and Taylor [Rotto] got some minutes again as an outside back. Five or six minutes here or there all leads to being more comfortable. They're good enough players where they deserve to play but at the same time you've got to earn your minutes. The biggest thing for them is that they're doing their job when called upon. If we can do that, then we're doing our job and we have a chance to be successful."
 
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