DEKALB – The NIU women's soccer team (8-8-1, 5-5 MAC) will return to the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex on Thursday to host Western Michigan (9-7-1, 4-5-1 MAC) in the regular season finale at 2:00 p.m. CT. The Huskies currently sit in sixth place in the Mid-American Conference standings and will clinch a spot in the MAC tournament with a win or a draw on Thursday.

Last week, NIU played two games on the road last Thursday and Sunday at Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan, dropping both contests by a score of 1-0. The Huskies still have an opportunity to host a quarterfinal game with a win and losses by Toledo and Buffalo on Thursday.

"We'd love to host a first round game for our program but we've been fine playing on the road all season," Head Coach John Ross said. "We're playing to get that game at home for our fans."

The Huskies have scored one goal in their past four games after averaging 1.5 goals per game in the previous 13 matches in the regular season. NIU's defense has only allowed opponents to score one or no goals in five of their last six contests.

Western Michigan is currently in the eighth spot in the MAC standings with the top-eight teams making the tournament. The Broncos won at Central Michigan last Sunday by a score of 2-1 after scoring a combined two goals in the six matches prior.

The Broncos' leading point scorer is Grace Labadie who also leads the team in goals with five and has added one assist for 11 points. WMU goalkeeper Stephanie Heber has played every minute for the Broncos with 77 saves, a 1.03 goals against average and a .811 save percentage.

With no team locked into any spot in the standings, the Huskies can finish as high as fourth place or as low as ninth and out of the tournament. All MAC games on Thursday will be played at 2:00 p.m. with the official tournament seeding to be released after all matches have gone final. MAC quarterfinal matches will be played on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 12:00 p.m. CT.