DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team returns to action this week as the Huskies host SIU Edwardsville on Wednesday, March 31, at 2:30 p.m., before traveling to Akron on Sunday, April 4, for a noon CT kickoff. 

NIU comes into the week on the heels of a 3-1 setback at Western Michigan this past Sunday (March 28). Junior Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) scored his fifth goal of the season against the Broncos and leads the Mid-American Conference in both goals and points (12). 

Bowling Green currently leads the MAC with nine points, NIU is part of a four-way tie, that includes Akron, West Virginia and Western Michigan, on six points while SIU Edwardsville has three points. 

The Cougars come to DeKalb with a 4-3 overall record and a 1-3 mark in conference play. Oskar Lenz is the leading scorer for SIU Edwardsville with three goals and eight points; Lluis Martorell has played six matches in goal, posting a 1.26 goals against average and a .821 save percentage. Wednesday's match is the first of two between NIU and SIU Edwardsville, with the Huskies heading south on Wednesday, April 7. 

Akron has a 3-1-1 overall record, including a 2-1 mark in the MAC. Diogo Pacheco has two goals to lead the Zips in scoring, Federico Serra and Daniel Strachan are just behind with three points. Will Meyer has played four of the five contests in goal for Akron and has a 1.16 goals against average with a .583 save percentage. 

Sunday's contest is the second meeting this season between NIU and Akron. The Huskies beat the Zips, 3-0, in the first meeting (March 14) with goals from Markanich, freshman Diego Maynez (El Paso, Texas) and sophomore Enrique Banuelos (Mexico City, Mexico/Virginia). 

Members of the general public are now welcome to attend NIU home soccer matches with capacity of the NIU Soccer Complex limited to 20 percent, or just under 400 total. Home contests are also streamed live on Huskie All-Access on NIUHuskies.com. Subscriptions are available for $6.95 (24-hour pass), $10.95 (monthly recurring subscription) or $89.95 (annual).