July 16, 2008
Complete Schedule in PDF Format 
DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois Head Men's Soccer Coach Steve Simmons announced the Huskies' 2008 schedule, Wednesday. The slate features six teams that earned bids to the 2007 NCAA Championship, including five-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke, Northwestern, Akron, Bradley, Tulsa and SMU.
"It's the schedule that our top recruits want to play." Simmons said. "This year's schedule is right up there with the best ones we've had."
The Huskies open up the season in Evanston, Ill., at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic against IUPUI, Aug. 29. Two days later, NIU battles San Francisco, a perennial contender from the West Coast Conference. Simmons thinks the game could affect the Huskies' chances at the NCAA Tournament in November.
"As early as that game is, it might come back and have implications as far as the (NCAA) tournament," he said.
Another game that could help NIU in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) is a Nov. 2 match against Duke in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils reached their sixth NCAA Tournament last season.
"Duke is an ACC school with tons of tradition," Simmons said. "It's certainly a very important game for us as we try to take the show on the road and play against one of college soccer's finest programs."
NIU will also face top-level competition Sept. 19 and 21, taking on SMU and Tulsa, which combined for 29 wins in 2007.
"SMU has been in the top-10 for I can't remember how long," Simmons said. "They are certainly one of the powers in college soccer. And the tournament host is Tulsa, who was a seeded team last year in the tournament. Playing those two teams on the road at the end of September in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we are going to see the character of our team."
The Huskies are scheduled to play their first match at the new NIU Track and Field/Soccer Complex, Sept. 5, against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, one of four in-state teams on the 2007 schedule.
NIU travels to Bradley, Sept., 7 to face the Braves in the renewal of an in-state rivalry that dates back to 1969. Other Illinois teams NIU will face include Eastern Illinois, Sept. 14, and Northwestern, Oct 22.
The Huskies upset then-No. 9 Northwestern in overtime last season by scoring two goals in under 15 minutes. The Wildcats are one of two Big Ten teams NIU will face this year in what Simmons calls "our local Big Ten grudge matches." The Huskies will host Wisconsin, Oct. 29., which NIU has beaten in four of the teams' last five meetings.
Northern Illinois opens its Mid-American Conference schedule with two home matches, first against new league affiliate Florida Atlantic, Sept. 26, then versus defending MAC Champion, Akron, Oct. 4. Simmons said the match-up with Akron is "always such a fun game." Three of the teams' last four contests have been decided by one goal, and the fourth ended in a tie, with MAC Championship overtones hanging on every touch.
Overall, Simmons is satisfied with the schedule he crafted.
"You've got RPI implications on the non-conference side, and you've got the MAC Championship and rights to host the conference tournament on the other," Simmons said. "That means every game is important, and that's how it should be."
Prior to the regular season opener against IUPUI, the Huskies will play exhibitions against DePaul, Aug. 17 in Chicago, and Marquette, Aug. 23 in DeKalb. The Marquette match will be played at Huskie Football Stadium.
