DEKALB, Ill. – Following four straight games away from home, the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team will be back on campus on Homecoming Saturday night, Oct. 13, as the Huskies host Bowling Green. Kickoff against the Falcons is slated for 7 p.m.
Saturday's game will follow the NIU football game that is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., so parking may be limited around the NIU Soccer Complex.
"It is huge," NIU head coach
Ryan Swan said of Saturday's game. "You only get five (conference games) and when you drop the first one it puts more emphasis on the next one. Bowling Green got a great result last week against Akron, so I know they will be excited. It's a big game, as they all are, the guys have had a good week of training, spirits seem high and we are ready for the game."
NIU is coming off a 3-2, double overtime loss at SIU Edwardsville in its Mid-American Conference opener. The Huskies took a 2-0 lead in the first half against the Cougars on goals from sophomore
Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) and freshman
Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) before SIUE levelled the match, and ultimately earned the victory with a 106th minute goal from Kelby Phillips.
Markanich is currently tied for fourth in the MAC with a team-high four goals and tied for sixth in the conference in points with 10. Senior
Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) leads the conference with seven assists. NIU junior goalkeeper
Konrad Dziedzic (Schiller Park, Ill./West Virginia) is tied for the MAC lead with five shutouts.
The Falcons come into Saturday night's contest with a 3-5-3 overall record, including a 0-0-1 mark in conference play. Bowling Green played to a 0-0 draw against Akron last Saturday night (Oct. 6) in its league opener and earned a 3-2 victory at IUPUI last time out (Oct. 9). Tate Robertson leads the Falcons in scoring with 12 points (three goals, six assists), fourth-most in the MAC. Anthony Mwembia has played all 11 matches in goal, posting a 1.53 goals against average and a .660 save percentage.
"They are very well organized," Swan said of Bowling Green. "I expect that it will be a pretty physical game, we have prepared for that and hopefully we can match that while still playing our style of soccer."
With Saturday night's match almost immediately following the Huskie football game, Swan hopes fans will stay on campus and support the men's soccer team.
"Obviously with the tailgating going on around the field it would be great if some of the Huskie fans would stick around and extend their tailgate for an hour or two and enjoy some soccer," said Swan.
