DEKALB, Ill. – Unbeaten in its last two games, the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team returns home as it hosts Bradley on Saturday night (Oct. 14) at the NIU Soccer Complex. Kickoff between the Huskies and Braves is slated for 7 p.m. 

Fans attending Saturday's soccer match should note that parking lots will be busy, and some roads may be closed due to the 3 p.m. NIU football game. Fans attending the soccer game should park in the Convocation Center lots and enter directly off Lincoln Highway. 

"We are excited to be back home," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "It has been a great week on campus, last night the unveiling of the statue downtown was a great event and there is a lot of buzz around town and around campus. We are excited to hopefully have a big crowd to help us get a result on Saturday night."

Last time out, Angel Rodriguez (Elgin, Ill./Ignite Christian Academy) converted a penalty kick in the 87th minute as NIU tied Drake, 1-1, on Des Moines (Oct. 7). It was the second goal in as many games for Rodriguez as his 79th minute tally gave the Huskies a 1-0 victory at Marquette on Oct. 2. 

Rodriguez is tied with Eddie Knight (Frisco, Texas/Lone Star) for the team lead with three goals and the pair are also tied with Taisei Arima (Machida, Japan/Seiryo) on a team-best seven points. 

Atahan Arslan (Ismir, Turkey) has started each of the last two games in goal for NIU. For the season, Arslan has a 1.00 goals against average and .786 save percentage. 

Bradley comes to DeKalb with a 4-3-5 overall record after a 1-1 draw at Wisconsin on Monday (Oct. 9). Jamaine Mejias leads the Braves in scoring with three goals and seven points. Drew Berry and Alex Grow have evenly split Bradley's 12 matches in goal, with Berry posting a 1.33 goals against average and a .600 save percentage while Grow has a 1.50 goals against average and a .710 save percentage. 

"Everything is really tight in the Valley (standings) right now, as we anticipated," said Swan. "There are a lot of good teams and every game feels like the most important one. For both us and Bradley, I think this is huge, we will both be looking for a result. As the season goes along, the points become more valuable and having a big home support would be greatly appreciated."

NIU leads the all-time series against Bradley, 11-6-4. Last season, the Huskies and Braves played to a 2-2 draw in Peoria (Sept. 1, 2022), Arima and Patrick Coleman (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) scored in last year's contest for NIU.

Following Saturday's contest, NIU will head on the road to face an old rival in a new conference as the Huskies and Western Michigan meet in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 18. Kickoff in Kalamazoo is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.