Sept. 24, 2010

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PEORIA, Ill. - Freshman James Stevenson scored in the seventh and 85th minutes, lifting the Northern Illinois men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Bradley, Friday at Shae Stadium.

The Huskies won their fourth consecutive match, and improved to 4-2-1 on the year. Bradley lost its third straight match, falling to 3-4-1.

"As we expected, they were a very athletic, strong team," NIU head coach Eric Luzzi said. "They made it very difficult to play because they worked so hard throughout the match."

Northern Illinois took an early lead as freshman Mino Kayser received a pass from senior Luis Mojica and fired a shot. The attempt hit the cross bar and bounced out, where Stevenson was waiting to give NIU a 1-0 lead.

"Mino made a fantastic play on the first goal, but his shot hit the cross bar and bounced out," Luzzi said. "James put himself in the right place at the right time to score."

The match would remain scoreless over the next 78 minutes, until Stevenson earned a one-on-one breakaway and juked Bradley goalkeeper Brian Billings for an easy tap into the net.

NIU outshot the Braves, 10-8, but Bradley forced Huskie goalie Jordan Godsey to make five saves. The Huskies are now 2-1-1 with Godsey minding the net.

NIU has now beaten its last four opponents by an aggregate score of 7-1. The Huskies have recorded shutouts in three of those matches, whitewashing Cleveland State and Gonzaga in addition to Bradley. It was the first time the Braves had been shutout this season.

Northern Illinois returns to action at DePaul, Wednesday, Sept. 29, before returning home to open conference play against Hartwick, Oct. 2