DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's soccer head coach Michael O'Neill unveiled the Huskies 2024 slate on Thursday (July 11). NIU will host three non-conference matches and five Mid-American Conference contests while playing 11 on the road. 

NIU, entering its third season under the direction of O'Neill, is looking to build on a 2023 season in which the Huskies finished 8-8-3 and 6-4-1 in MAC play. The Huskies qualified for the conference tournament as a five seed to make their first appearance since 2017. 

"We are excited to get going this fall," O'Neill said. "Last year the team did a fantastic job of raising the bar on and off the field. As I look at this 2024 schedule, I see no reason why we can't continue to raise the bar."

The Huskies will host an exhibition match against Western Illinois on Friday, Aug. 9, with the regular season kicking off at DePaul on Thursday, Aug. 15.

NIU's regular season home opener will take place on Thursday, Aug. 22, as the Huskies host St. Thomas (Minn.). NIU will then welcome Southern Indiana to DeKalb on Thursday, Aug. 29. 

The Huskies head on the road for four consecutive matches, beginning with a trip to Oakland on Sunday, Sept. 1. NIU will travel to South Bend, Ind., to meet Notre Dame on Thursday, Sept. 5, two days before the Huskie football team meets the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round a season ago. 

NIU closes the road swing with trips to Eastern Illinois (Sept. 8) and Illinois State (Sept. 12) before Valparaiso comes to DeKalb on Sunday, Sept. 15, to wrap up the non-conference slate. The conference opener sees the Huskies travel to Oxford, Ohio, to meet Miami on Thursday, Sept. 19. 

NIU's conference home opener is against reigning MAC Tournament champion Ohio on Sunday, Sept. 22, and is the first of two consecutive home games with Central Michigan visiting NIU on Thursday, Sept. 26. 

Back-to-back road games at Buffalo (Sept. 29) and Bowling Green (Oct. 5) follow the visit by the Chippewas before the Huskies alternate home and road games for the final six games of the regular season. 

That sequence begins with a rematch of last season's MAC Quarterfinal when NIU hosts Kent State on Thursday, Oct. 10. Following a trip to Akron (Oct. 13), the Huskies will entertain Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 18, as part of NIU's Homecoming Weekend festivities. 

Trips to Ball State (Oct. 24) and defending conference regular season champion Western Michigan (Oct. 31) are sandwiched around the final home game of the regular season when NIU hosts Toledo on Sunday, Oct. 27. 

-- NIU --