CHARLESTON, Ill. – Freshmen Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) and Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) each found the back of the net as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team earned its fourth consecutive victory, and third-straight shutout, with a 2-0 win at Eastern Illinois on Friday afternoon. 

The four-game winning streak is NIU's longest since winning four-straight late in the 2011 season (Nov. 5-17, 2011). The last time the Huskies recorded three consecutive clean sheets came during the 2012 campaign (Oct. 20-27, 2012). 

"We were sharp, we moved the ball pretty well and created chances early in the game," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "We stuck to the game plan for the entire 90 minutes and scored two very good goals. Once again, we limited the number of chances that our opponent had."

NIU (6-2) was on the front-foot from the opening kickoff as the Huskies earned a corner inside the first four minutes and junior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette) tested Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Jonathan Burke from that initial set piece. 

The Huskies were a goal to the good just past the quarter-hour mark. Senior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) whipped in a cross from the right wing and Anthony Markanich connected on a perfect volley from just inside the 18-yard box, beating Burke and giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.

Anthony Markanich's goal was his second of the season while the assist was the fifth of the year for Rodriguez, who leads the MAC in assists. 

Just two minutes later, Rodriguez had a chance to double the NIU advantage but Burke came up with the save. In the 37th minute, Burke again stopped a chance by Maertins as the Huskies took a 1-0 lead into the interval. 

Five minutes after halftime, NIU struck again with the first shot of the second 45 minutes. Sophomore Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) combined with junior Irvin Dominguez (El Paso, Texas/Richland College) to start the buildup. Dominguez played a left-footed cross into the box where Nick Markanich got on the end of it and fired a shot just inside the post for his team-leading fourth goal of the season. 

Senior Noah Brodie (Scottsdale, Ariz./Carbondale Community) had a chance in the 54th minute and Nick Markanich nearly had his brace in the 58th, but Burke stopped both Huskie opportunities. 

Eastern Illinois (2-4-2) was limited to just three shots in the contest, none of which were on goal; Burke finished with five saves between the posts for the Panthers. 

NIU will now turn its attention to the annual matchup for the LeWang Trophy against Milwaukee. The Huskies and Panthers will meet on Tuesday night, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m., in Milwaukee and the game will be available on ESPN+.