DEKALB, Ill. – Three matches remain in the regular season for the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team with a pair of those coming this week as the Huskies travel to SIU Edwardsville on Wednesday, April 7, before closing the home slate with West Virginia on Sunday, April 11. Game time in Edwardsville on Wednesday is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN+ while Sunday's contest against the Mountaineers will kickoff at 1 p.m. 

NIU (5-5-1, 4-3-0 MAC) travels south to meet its in-state rival sitting on top of the Mid-American Conference standings with 12 points, three ahead of Bowling Green, West Virginia and Western Michigan. The Huskies earned a pair of wins last week as they topped SIU Edwardsville, 2-0, on Wednesday, March 31 and won at Akron, 3-1, on Sunday, April 4. 

Junior Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) scored two goals against the Cougars to earn MAC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. Sophomore Enrique Banuelos (Mexico City, Mexico/Virginia) had a goal and an assist at Akron to claim a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. 

Markanich has seven goals this season, which leads the MAC and is tied for ninth nationally, and 16 points, which also leads the conference and is tied for 14th in the country. Banuelos is one of three Huskies, along with sophomore Adrian Lara (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet Township) and junior Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) with three goals, tied for fourth-best in the MAC. 

SIU Edwardsville enters Wednesday's contest with a 4-5-0 record, 1-5-0 in league play. Oskar Lenz leads the Cougars in scoring with four goals and 11 points. Lluis Martorell has played seven of nine matches in goal for SIUE, he has a 1.37 goals against average and a .800 save percentage. 

West Virginia comes into the week with a 5-2 overall record, 3-2 in the MAC, the Mountaineers travel to Akron on Wednesday before visiting DeKalb on Sunday. Ike Swiger has a team-high three goals and six points to pace West Virginia offensively, Steven Tekesky has played every minute between the posts for the Mountaineers and has a 0.43 goals against average along with a .885 save percentage. 

Members of the general public are now welcome to attend NIU home soccer matches with capacity of the NIU Soccer Complex limited to 25 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).