DEKALB, Ill. – Taisei Arima (Machida, Japan/Seiryo) scored in the 86th minute to give the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Bowling Green on Wednesday night (Nov. 1) in the regular season finale at the NIU Soccer Complex. With the win, the Huskies earned a spot in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and will face Bowling Green in a rematch in the quarterfinals on Sunday (Nov. 5). 

"It was a little nerve-racking," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "We played pretty well and were defending our 1-0 lead well, and just a comedy of errors led to their equalizer. That was obviously disappointing, but I was really proud of how the guys responded. It would have been easy to quit on that and feel like things were against us, but the response was great. Angel (Rodriguez) gets in and almost scores and then Braeden (Beard) and Taisei (Arima) combined to get the winner, which was fantastic. Then I thought we did manage the closing stages of the game very well."

With results elsewhere meaning NIU needed a victory to clinch a spot in the conference tournament, the Huskies pressed for a winner in the final quarter-hour of the contest. 

Angel Rodriguez (Elgin, Ill./Ignite Christian Academy) nearly scored his second of the night in the 82nd minute as Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) played a ball into Rodriguez from the left and the shot from Rodriguez with the outside of his right foot tailed just away from the far post. 

Four minutes from time, Arima found the winner for the Huskies. Thomas hit a long ball into the feet of Braeden Beard (Olathe, Kan./Olathe Northwest), who laid the ball off to Rodriguez. The sophomore midfielder gave it back to Beard who played it into the run of Arima cutting down the right wing. Arima took a couple touches before firing a left-footed shot back inside the near post past Bowling Green goalkeeper Brendan Graves to lift the Huskies to the victory and a spot in the conference tournament. 

"Our ambitions here are to be competing for conference championships every year, so to get ourselves in and give ourselves a chance to compete for it is massive," said Swan. "Especially being the first year in the (Missouri) Valley, I think it's important for us to be there, and I'm happy to see our fellow MAC schools (Bowling Green and Western Michigan) joining us."

Both of NIU's goal scorers, Rodriguez and Arima, along with Beard, who tallied two assists, came off the bench in the contest. 

"We have a strong squad," said Swan. "We have dealt with some injury and illness throughout the season, but we are pretty healthy right now and we have a lot of good players vying to get on the field. Braeden (Beard) has been excellent at training the last couple of weeks, so it doesn't surprise me that he had a couple assists. Angel (Rodriguez) and Taisei (Arima) have scored goals the last couple years and we know that they are a threat every game."

The Huskies nearly opened the scoring inside 10 minutes as Thomas played a low cross to the back post where Camilo Estrada (Dallas, Texas/Lone Star) was all alone, only to see Graves make a good save. 

Two minutes later, Jakub Rojek (Chicago, Ill./Von Steuben) tipped a shot from Nathan Masters around the post to keep the contest scoreless. 

Just before the half-hour mark, Thomas had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring as he chopped the ball back onto his left just inside the edge of the box and fired a curling effort that beat Graves but rattled off the post. 

NIU went in front just four minutes before the interval as Rodriguez scored his fourth goal of the season. Estrada collected the ball in midfield and sprayed it wide into the run of Beard who played a low cross near the top of the box to Rodriguez. The shot from Rodriguez took a deflection off a Falcon defender and rolled into the back of the net to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead they would take into halftime. 

A free kick from Alberto Anaya forced a save by Rojek in the 52nd minute and the Huskie senior goalkeeper was called upon to make his best stop of the night in the 68th minute as Jake Lane had space in the box and fired a shot toward the upper corner, but Rojek was at full-stretch to make the save. 

Bowling Green leveled the contest in the 72nd minute on a Huskie own goal. A low cross from the left was inadvertently turned into the NIU net at the back post to even the score at 1-1. 

The Huskies and Falcons will meet again on Sunday, Nov. 5, in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals in Bowling Green, Ohio. Kickoff for Sunday's match is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.