DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team takes to the field for the final time in the regular season on Saturday night, November 3, when the Huskies host West Virginia. Kickoff against the Mountaineers is slated for 7 p.m.

"The guys have had a good week of training, so they are ready for the game," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "We know that West Virginia is a very good team, you can see that from their record, both in and out of conference, so I believe it will be a very good college soccer game.

"We have a chance to host on Tuesday (in the conference tournament) and West Virginia has an eye on an at-large bid, should they not win the conference (tournament), so everyone should be up for the game."

The Huskies head into the final match of the regular season in a logjam in the conference standings with just one match to go. Saturday night's opponent, West Virginia, has clinched the MAC regular season crown and will host the semifinals and final of the league tournament next weekend. The other five teams in the conference are separated by just two points, with Bowling Green and Western Michigan on five points, Akron and SIU Edwardsville on four points and NIU on three points. 

NIU (8-7-1, 1-3 MAC) is coming off a 2-1 setback last Saturday (Oct. 27) at Western Michigan; senior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) scored the lone goal for the Huskies in the contest and is now tied for second on the team with 12 points, including a team-best eight assists, which ranks second in the conference. Freshman Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) leads NIU with eight goals, tied for third-most in the league. 

Junior goalkeeper Konrad Dziedzic (Schiller Park, Ill./West Virginia) has seen the majority of the action between the posts for the Huskies, recording a 1.29 goals against average and a .630 save percentage. Dziedzic spent two seasons at West Virginia before coming to NIU prior to last season. 

After a stretch of four games in 12 days that concluded last Saturday at Western Michigan, the Huskies have enjoyed having a full week to prepare for the regular season finale. 

"It has been good," said Swan. "We have had a tough stretch with a lot of games in a short period of time, so there was a few knocks and bruises. So it has been nice to focus on re-centering ourselves for the West Virginia game."

West Virginia comes into Saturday's match with a 12-5 overall record, including a 4-0 mark in league play, and is ranked 16th in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. Joey Piatczyc leads the Mountaineers offensively with six goals, fifth-most in the MAC, and 18 points, third-best in the conference. Steven Tekesky has played nearly every minute in goal for West Virginia, posting a 1.06 goals against average and a .780 save percentage. 

"They are a very good team," said Swan. "I thought they were good last year, they play a nice style of soccer and have some dynamic players, so it should be a good contest and we are looking forward to it."

The MAC Tournament will begin on Tuesday, November 6, with the quarterfinals as the league's No. 3 seed will host No. 6 and the No. 4 seed will host No. 5. Full details regarding NIU's seeding and next match will be known following the results of Saturday's league action.