DEKALB – The NIU women's soccer team (8-6-1, 5-3 MAC) will play their final regular season road matches this week as they will face Central Michigan (6-7-3, 1-5-2 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (5-11-1, 2-6 MAC). The Huskies will take on the Chippewas on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in Mount Pleasant then will have two days off before going to Ypsilanti to take on the Eagles on Sunday at noon.
 
NIU is coming off of a 1-0 win against Ohio last Sunday on Senior Day as senior goalkeeper Amy Annala (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) recorded her fourth shutout of the season along with a goal from Natalie Yass (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West). The Huskies have given up less than two goals in three of their last four matches with their only loss coming against Kent State last Friday 1-0.
 
Yass now joins a group of four Huskies with multiple goals and assists this season joining Lauren Gierman (Prospect Heights, Ill./John Hersey), Taylor Sarver (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) and Allie Ingham (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) with two or more goals and assists in 2017.
 
The Huskies are currently in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference standings with their five wins equaling 15 points. The top-eight teams in the MAC standings qualify for the tournament with the top-four getting to host the quarterfinal game.
 
Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan have each lost their last three matches as Central Michigan fell to Bowling Green on Oct. 8, Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 13 and Ball State on Oct. 15. The Eagles also lost to Miami and Ball State and also dropped their match on Oct. 8 to Toledo.
 
The Chippewas are led offensively by Lexi Pelafas who leads the MAC with 12 goals on the year and also has two assists for 26 points, which is good for second in the conference. EMU does not have a standout scorer like Pelafas but their goalkeeper Kaylin Williams is 5^th in the MAC in saves with 77 on the year.
 
After these two road matches, NIU women's soccer will host their final regular season game on Thursday, Oct. 26 against Western Michigan. Sunday, Oct. 29 will be the first round of the MAC tournament.