DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team returns to action for a pair of matches this weekend, heading to Marquette on Friday, September 13, before hosting Bradley on Sunday, September 15. 

Sunday's home contest is Youth Soccer Club Day featuring an appearance by Victor E. Huskie, inflatables and the opportunity to participate in a scrimmage at halftime. Kickoff against Bradley on Sunday is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the NIU women's soccer team will host Loyola Chicago on Sunday at 6 p.m. Admission for all NIU Soccer matches is free of charge.

NIU heads into Friday's matchup with Marquette at 0-3-1 on the season following a 2-1 setback at Dayton on Monday (Sept. 9). Senior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette) scored the lone goal of the contest for the Huskies, his first of the season and the 15th of his collegiate career. 

Maertins will be making his first trip to Marquette as a Huskie after starting his collegiate career with the Golden Eagles as a freshman. The senior forward netted a goal for Marquette against NIU when the Huskies and Golden Eagles met in 2016, one of his three goals that season. 

"It is a work in progress that we have going on and we have to start finding the finishing touches," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "When you look at the number of chances we have given up versus the number of chances we have created through the first four games, our ratios are just off. We aren't giving away many chances, but we are conceding goals and we are creating chances, but not scoring goals. 

"We have been focusing on being more clinical on the attacking side and still working on the fundamentals defensively. We know it is going to come together and hopefully we will see it happen tomorrow night."

The Golden Eagles enter Friday's game with a 1-1-1 mark after dropping a 2-1 decision at South Florida last Friday (Sept. 6). Marquette has scored three goals this season with Connor Alba, Manuel Cukaj and Alex Mirsberger each finding the net while Jackson Weyman has played all three matches in goal for the Golden Eagles, posting a 0.88 goals against average and a .824 save percentage. 

Bradley has a 1-0-2 overall record and will host Eastern Illinois on Friday night (Sept. 13) before coming to NIU on Sunday for its first game of the season. Gerit Wintermeyer has a pair of goals to lead the Braves offensively and Nathan Wisbey has played every minute in goal, recording a 0.58 goals against average and a .667 save percentage. 

Following this weekend's pair of matches, the Huskies will travel to Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, September 20.