DEKALB, Ill. – Nearly 10 years to the day since its last Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship, the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team will attempt to win another conference tournament crown as the 19th-ranked, and MAC regular season champion, Huskies host third-seeded Georgia State on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 12 noon at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. 

Tickets for Sunday's MAC Championship Game will be available at the gate, admission is $5 general admission. Students from the participating schools will be admitted free of charge with a student ID and the match will be live streamed free of charge on NIUHuskies.com.

The Huskies are making sixth all-time appearance in the MAC Tournament Final, but their first since 2012. NIU won the tournament crown in 2006 and 2011, while also reaching the final in 1999, 2008 and 2012. 

"We are really excited," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "The goal every year is to be competing for a MAC Championship, so to have won the regular season and be here hosting with a chance to win the tournament is fantastic. We know there is a big challenge ahead of us with Georgia State who are a very good team and had a great result on Thursday's as well."

NIU's opponent in Sunday's final, Georgia State, is a newcomer to the MAC, but is no stranger to conference tournament finals as the Panthers will be competing in their seventh consecutive conference final. The previous six came when Georgia State was a member of the Sun Belt. 

The regular season meeting between NIU and Georgia State took place just three weeks ago as the Huskies claimed a 2-1 overtime victory in Atlanta. Pepe Martinez (Sant antoni de vilamajor, Spain/Western Michigan) opened the scoring and netted the game-winner in the 94th minute to lead the Huskies to the victory over the Panthers. 

NIU advanced to Sunday's final with a 5-2 victory over third-seeded Bowling Green in Thursday's semifinals as the Huskies moved to 13-2-2 on the season. Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) opened the scoring in the 41st minute before the Huskies blew the game open with four more goals to start the second half. Roque Viegas Jr. (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Syracuse), Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), Martinez and Miguel Maynez Jr. (El Paso, Texas/New Mexico) helped give NIU a 5-0 lead before a couple of late consolation goals by Bowling Green. 

For Markanich, his goal was his 15th of the season, moving him into a tie for the national lead with Theo Collomb of UNC Greensboro and Emil Jaaskelainen of LIU. Markanich is also tied with Collomb for the national lead in points with 35. Markanich's 15th goal also moves him into a tie for fourth in a single season in NIU history with Eric Roy (1969), Nils Kloster (1984), Willy Roy Jr. (1990) and Dan Parisi (1999). 

Georgia State brings a 12-5-0 record into Sunday's final after topping second seed West Virginia, 1-0, in the semifinals on a goal by Justin Guest. Ethan Sassine leads the Panthers in scoring with six goals and 13 points while Guest has five goals and 11 points. Gunther Rankenburg has played every minute in goal for Georgia State, posting a 1.15 goals against average and a .737 save percentage. 

"Our crowds have really helped push us through," said Swan. "You could see the excitement when the guys scored on Thursday, celebrating with the crowd. We truly appreciate the support, and this game is as much for them as it is for us. An opportunity after supporting us through all these other games to be out here as we challenge for a trophy. I think it is an exciting time for everybody at NIU."

The winner of Sunday's final will receive the MAC's automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament selection show will be streamed on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 15 at 12 noon CT, with the first round slated for Thursday, Nov. 18 on campus sites.