DEKALB, Ill. – The 21st-ranked Northern Illinois University men's soccer team heads to the State of Georgia this weekend for a pair of conference games as the Huskies meet Georgia Southern on Thursday, Oct. 21 and Georgia State on Saturday, Oct. 23. Kickoff for both games is slated for 6 p.m. CT.

NIU moved up one place this week in the United Soccer Coaches Poll following last Saturday's 1-1 draw against 17th-ranked Bowling Green. Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) scored his second goal of the season against the Falcons. The Huskies are unbeaten in their last 10 matches, tied for the sixth-longest streak in the country with Hofstra and Oral Roberts, behind only New Hampshire (14), Saint Louis (14), Kentucky (12), Washington (12) and Marshall (11). 

Despite seeing its seven-match shutout streak end against Bowling Green, Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) remains among the national leaders in all goalkeeper categories. Sanchez is currently tied for first in the nation with eight shutouts, ranked second in the country with a 0.36 goals against average and ranked fourth with a .857 save percentage. As a team, the Huskies are second nationally, behind Kentucky, with a 0.36 team goals against average.  

The NIU offense is currently second in the country, behind only UNC Greensboro, averaging 2.75 goals per game. Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) is second in scoring individually with 12 goals and third in points with 28. Enrique Banuelos (Mexico City, Mexico/Virginia) is tied for 16th in the country with seven assists. 

The Huskies are making the program's first trip to the State of Georgia this weekend as NIU meets both Georgia Southern and Georgia State for the first time. 

Georgia Southern is 4-9 overall, 0-2 in league play after dropping road games at Akron and Bowling Green. Georgia State has a 9-3 mark overall, 1-1 in the MAC, and will host Western Michigan on Thursday (Oct. 21) before welcoming NIU to Atlanta. 

Following their trip south, the Huskies will return home for the final time during the regular season as they host Akron on Saturday, Oct. 30. Kickoff against the Zips is scheduled for 2 p.m.