Oct. 2, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Live Stats | Game Notes
DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men’s soccer team concludes its four-game roadtrip on Saturday, Oct. 3, as it opens Mid-American Conference play at Bowling Green. The Huskies and Falcons will kickoff at 6 p.m. CT at Cochrane Stadium.
“For everybody across the country, conference play is almost a season within the season,” said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. “We have been pleased with how the first half of our season has gone, but we also know that there is no guarantee of any carryover and all bets are off as we start conference play, especially in our conference with only five teams.
“Every point is hard to come by, every game matters, so we expect all of our conference games to be very lively, intense games, but we start in a good place right now. We just had a great training session and I am excited for the game tomorrow.”
NIU takes a 5-2-0 record to Ohio, having claimed a 3-2 double overtime win at Eastern Illinois on Tuesday (Sept. 29). Sophomore Luke Read (Ilford, England/Barking Abbey School) scored with three seconds left to give the Huskies the victory. Senior Taylor Cole (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Hinsdale Central/St. John's) netted his second goal of the season and freshman Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) scored his first collegiate goal against the Panthers.
The Huskies set a new school record at Eastern Illinois when they earned 21 corner kicks in the double overtime victory. The mark bettered NIU’s previous high of 18, also set against Eastern Illinois, on Sept. 14, 2008. This season the Huskies have more than doubled their opponents in corners, holding a 51-23 advantage in the category.
The Falcons of Bowling Green come into Saturday’s conference opener with a 6-3-0 record, including a 5-1 mark at home. Bowling Green suffered its first home loss on Tuesday (Sept. 29) when the Falcons fell to Michigan State, 1-0. Pat Flynn leads Bowling Green with nine goals and 22 points while Ryan Heuton has played all nine matches in goal for the Falcons, posting a 1.44 goals against average and 22 saves.
NIU leads the all-time series with Bowling Green, 16-8-2, but the Falcons have won the last two meetings with the Huskies. Last season, Bowling Green claimed a 2-1 victory in DeKalb in the regular season finale (Nov. 8, 2014), Dusty Page tallied the lone goal for the Huskies. NIU’s last win in the series came on Oct. 29, 2011 at Bowling Green, Pat Sloan, Kenny Kranz and Jayson LeSeth were all on target for the Huskies in the 3-0 victory.
NIU will return home for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when the Huskies host Milwaukee in the annual Lewang Trophy match. Game time between the Huskies and Panthers is slated for 7 p.m.
