DEKALB, Ill. – Two goals in five minutes, along with a late insurance tally, lifted the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over 15th-ranked Akron on Sunday afternoon (March 14) at the NIU Soccer Complex. Junior Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) opened the scoring while freshman Diego Maynez (El Paso, Texas) and sophomore Enrique Banuelos (Mexico City, Mexico/Virginia) added goals in the victory. 

The victory is just NIU's second against Akron since 2006 and is the first for the Huskies against a ranked opponent since beating 10th-ranked Omaha, 1-0, on September 15, 2017. 

"First and foremost, I'm delighted with the result and getting the three points," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "I'm delighted with our performance, every player on the field today was just outstanding. Luis Hernandez covered so much ground, he just got on to everything. Nick Markanich often has a thankless task running into big defenders and when his opportunity opened up in the second half he did fantastically well.

"(Roque) Viegas (Jr.) in the middle of the field creating things, so many guys were absolutely outstanding, and I thought we thoroughly deserved the result. We will enjoy this but start to focus in on Wednesday's game as well."

In the opening minute of the contest, the Huskies had a pair of looks at goal as freshman Camilo Estrada (Carrollton, Texas/Lone Star) had an effort blocked and freshman Harry Jolley (Liverpool, England) saw his chance from distance sail just over the crossbar. 

NIU (2-3-1, 1-1-0 MAC) and Akron combined for just three more shots in the opening 45 minutes, none of which were on target, as the two teams went into the interval deadlocked. 

After the break, Akron began to hold more of the possession, but never threatened in the final third. 

Just past the hour mark, the Huskies countered a Zips free kick with pace as junior Roque Viegas Jr. (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Syracuse) sprung NIU free on a three-on-one. Viegas fed the ball to Markanich, just beating an offside call. Markanich's first shot was saved by Akron goalkeeper Will Meyer but the rebound came right back to Markanich who fired past a pair of Zips defenders who had scrambled back to cover on the goal line for his fourth goal of the season, giving NIU a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

Five minutes later, NIU doubled its advantage through Maynez. Estrada fed the ball to Maynez near the corner of the box with plenty of space and the El Paso, Texas, native fired a thunderbolt into the upper corner of the goal, giving Meyer no chance, as the Huskies took a 2-0 lead. 

Akron (2-1-1, 1-1-0 MAC) had a couple of tame efforts that were easily saved by sophomore goalkeeper Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) before the Huskies added a third five minutes from time.

Meyer lost track of where he was with the ball in his hands near the edge of the box, stepping outside the box and giving NIU a free kick. Banuelos stepped forward to take the free kick and drove a low shot past the Akron goalkeeper for his second goal of the season, putting the finishing touches on a comprehensive victory. 

NIU outshot Akron in the contest, 9-6. Sanchez made two saves between the posts for the Huskies while Meyer made one stop for the Zips. 

The Huskies will continue their current three-match homestand on Wednesday, March 17, when NIU hosts Western Michigan. Kickoff against the Broncos is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.