DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team begins Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 12) when the Huskies welcome SIU Edwardsville to the NIU Soccer Complex. Kickoff against the Cougars is slated for 2 p.m. and admission to all Huskie soccer games is free of charge. 

"Every game is important, but everything up to this point is preparing for conference play," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "Getting to start at home, against a good SIUE team, is a good challenge but I think the guys are ready and hopefully the last couple of games have prepared them for it."

NIU (5-6-1) enters the first conference match of the season on the heels of a 5-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday (Oct. 8) in its final non-conference game of the season. Sophomore Miguel Maynez Jr. (El Paso, Texas/New Mexico) scored twice in the victory over the Panthers, sophomores Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) and Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) as well as junior Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) also found the back of the net against EIU. 

Nick Markanich leads the Huskies in scoring with five goals and 11 points, senior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette), who recorded a pair of assists on Tuesday against Eastern Illinois, is second with three goals and three assists for nine total points.  

The Cougars bring a 6-3-1 overall record into conference play and have won four consecutive matches, posting shutouts in all four including a 3-0 victory last time out against Valparaiso (Oct. 5). Jorge Gonzalez leads SIU Edwardsville, and the MAC, in scoring with seven goals and 16 points

Noah Heim and Lluis Martorell has split time in goal for the Cougars, Heim has played six matches with a 1.92 goals against average and a .740 save percentage while Martorell has not conceded a goal while starting the last four between the posts. 

"Everybody in the MAC has a pretty similar record coming into conference, we are all within a game or two of each other, and everyone has their eye on these games," said Swan. "We know how important they are, and we know there is that little bit extra because there are so few of these conference games."

Saturday's match marks the second consecutive season that the Huskies and Cougars have met in the conference opener. SIUE won last year's meeting, 3-2 in double overtime, in Edwardsville. Welch and Nick Markanich tallied the goals for the Huskies. 

Conference play continues next Friday, October 18, as the Huskies travel to West Virginia. Game time in Morgantown is set for 6 p.m.