MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Angel Rodriguez (Elgin, Ill./Ignite Christian Academy) scored the lone goal in the 79th minute as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer topped Marquette, 1-0, on Monday night (Oct. 2) at Valley Fields. Atahan Arslan (Ismir, Turkey) made seven saves in goal for the Huskies as he earned his first collegiate shutout. 

"We have lost some close games, but in all fairness to the players, the mentality and the atmosphere around the team has been very positive, but certainly winning helps to bring even more of that, so we are really happy to get the result tonight," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. 

There was nothing to separate the Huskies and Golden Eagles heading into the final quarter hour of the contest when Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) beat a defender down the left wing and fired a low cross toward Rodriguez. His first attempt was blocked but the rebound fell kindly back to Rodriguez who finished past Marquette goalkeeper Ludvig Malberg to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead 11 minutes before full time.

The goal was the second on the season for Rodriguez and the fourth of his collegiate career.

"It was an excellent run from Zach, he was aggressive and got into a dangerous area," said Swan. "Angel made the commitment to make the run and get into the box and, even after his first shot was blocked, he had the composure to find the opening and the back of the net."

In the 86th minute, Marquette had a good chance off a free kick as the second ball found Brooklyn Merl but his shot went just wide. The Golden Eagles had another look at goal in the 89th minute that was blocked by the NIU defense as the Huskies claimed their first road win at Marquette since 2015. 

After a cagey opening half hour, Arslan was called into action to make the first significant save of the match diving to his right to save an effort from Beto Soto. In the 35th minute, Diego Maynez (El Paso, Texas/Lone Star) had a shot blocked as the game went into the interval deadlocked. 

Marquette had the first good chance of the second 45 minutes as a shot from Adrian Lara was blocked in the 50th minute and the rebound came to Antonio Costabile, but his shot was stopped by Arslan. 

Just past the hour mark, Taisei Arima (Machida, Japan/Seiryo) came down the right wing for NIU, cutting in and firing a shot just wide of the near post. 

Marquette had eight shots and seven corners in the second half but rarely troubled the NIU goal as Arslan made just one save in the second 45 minutes. 

"I thought they were excellent," Swan said of the NIU defense. "One of our weaknesses in some of the goals we have given up this year has been our 1-v-1 defending and that was much better tonight. We were much more aggressive going in to win the ball, not giving up space and Atahan (Arslan) came and grabbed some important crosses for us which was big as well."

NIU will return to Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 6, when the Huskies travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake. Kickoff against the Bulldogs is slated for 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.