DEKALB, Ill. – A 22nd minute own goal and seven saves from senior goalkeeper Jakub Rojek (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) was enough to lift the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Belmont on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 22) at the NIU Soccer Complex. 

"The priority was winning the game, getting the three points and we have done that," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "Obviously (Jakub) Rojek was the hero today, getting us those three points. You are looking for someone to step up in the big moment and he did today. There is such a small margin between teams, it's the little things that count and today it was an own goal and some outstanding goalkeeping that got us the win.

"We were pretty good defensively and Rojek was outstanding. He had two or three top end saves. We made it difficult at times, there were times where we coughed the ball up in bad areas and (Belmont) had at least two breakaways that (Jakub) had to stand tall for. He was outstanding and I thought we defended well, our bigger issue was on the ball, building out of the back."

Rojek was called into action for the first time in the contest in the eighth minute as he stopped a shot from a tight angle by Michael Saunders. Ten minutes later a header by Esteban Leiva took a deflection that nearly wrong-footed Rojek, but the Huskie goalkeeper was able to adjust and make the save to keep the contest scoreless. 

The deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute as Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) played a cross from the left wing into the box looking for Parker Jeppson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest). A Belmont defender was first to the ball however and attempted a volleyed clearance, but he mishit the volley, and it found the back of the net behind Belmont goalkeeper Grant Calvert to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. 

In the 32nd minute, AJ Chastonay had a long-range effort for Belmont that was headed for the upper corner of the goal, but Rojek got a hand to it to make the save. 

Belmont had one more great chance in the first half as a giveaway at the back by NIU led to a one-on-one chance for Ayden von Essen with Rojek. von Essen fired a shot from near the top of the box and Rojek made the save with his face as NIU went into halftime with the one-goal advantage. 

Less than three minutes into the second half, another mistake by the NIU defense led to a chance for Jansen Wilson, but his shot was smothered by Rojek down to his right to keep the Huskies in front. 

Just after the hour mark, NIU had a chance to double its lead as the ball was played into the feet of Kevin Kelly (Dublin, Ireland/St. Joseph Rush) near the penalty spot. Kelly turned and fired a shot, but it was blocked away by the Bruin defense. 

Over the final 30 minutes, the Huskie backline limited chances for Belmont as the Bruins tested Rojek just once more, a tight angle shot from Alex Clayton that was saved in the 79th minute. 

NIU had an opportunity to double its advantage in the final minutes with a trio of shots, including a header from Thomas that was stopped by Calvert. 

With the win, the Huskies improve to 5-7-1 overall, 2-3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Belmont drops to 8-5-2, 3-3-0 in league play. 

NIU will be back in action on Friday night, Oct. 27, as the Huskies travel to Chicago to meet UIC. Kickoff against the Flames is scheduled for 7 p.m.