DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team will host 23rd-ranked Akron in its Mid-American Conference home opener on Saturday night at 6 p.m., at the NIU Soccer Complex. Saturday night's contest is Social Media Night, so fans are encouraged to follow the Huskies on Twitter and Instagram for the chance to win prizes during the match.

"We are happy to be playing this one at home as opposed to on the road," said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. "Akron is a top-20 team and they are good, so we know that we will have to put in a very good performance. We have had a couple of days to prepare, we have what we think is a decent plan to deal with what they do, and if we stick to that plan I fell that we will give ourselves a chance to get something out of the game."

NIU (1-6-4) opened conference play with a 0-0 draw last Saturday (Oct. 8) at Western Michigan; junior goalkeeper Drew Donnally (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) made nine saves in the contest and leads the league with 4.1 saves per game. In his last four matches, Donnally has posted a 0.95 goals against average and a .840 save percentage. Last time out, the Huskies fell to Eastern Illinois, 1-0 (Oct. 11).

The Zips bring a 6-4-1 overall record to DeKalb after falling at Michigan State, 2-1, on Tuesday (Oct. 11). Akron opened league play with a 4-0 home victory last weekend against Buffalo. Adam Najem leads the Zips with five goals and 13 points while Ben Lundt has played all 11 matches in goal for Akron, posting a 1.24 goals against average and a .714 save percentage.

Akron has won nine consecutive outright MAC regular season titles since sharing the 2006 crown with the Huskies. No team in the conference other than Akron or NIU has won the league regular season or tournament title since 2004.

Following Saturday's contest, the Huskies will step out of conference for the final time on Tuesday, Oct. 18, when they visit Loyola Chicago.