DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team will kickoff the 2024 regular season on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 22, when the Huskies take on St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. Kickoff against the Tommies is scheduled for 4 p.m. 

"Everyone is really excited to get out there," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "Preseason can be a bit of a grind. I thought it was positive, but two-a-days and a lot of playing against each other is a grind, so now that we get to officially start the season, I think everyone is excited and the mood is positive within the group."

NIU returns five starters from a season ago, led by Kevin Kelly (Dublin, Ireland/St. Joseph Rush) who started all 17 matches. Luka Vasic (Maple, Ontario/Maple) made 16 starts in 2023 while Ben Suddeth (Winfield, Ill./West Chicago) made 14, Zachariah Thomas (Burnaby, British Columbia/Moscrop Secondary) made 11 and Jakub Drazek (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) started each of the final nine games last year. 

The Huskies must replace their top four goal scorers from 2023 as well as goalkeeper Jakub Rojek, who finished last season ranked third nationally in saves per game (6.00). 

In the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll, the Huskies were picked sixth by the league's head coaches. NIU finished fifth in the league a season ago, topping Bowling Green, 2-1, on the road in the conference tournament quarterfinals before falling to 16th-ranked Western Michigan, 3-1, in the semifinals. 

The Tommies were picked to finish fifth in the Summit League preseason poll as they enter their fourth season in Division I. NIU and St. Thomas have met once previously, a 4-0 Huskie victory on Sept. 4, 2021. Nick Markanich scored twice in the contest while Anthony Markanich and Pepe Martinez were also on the scoresheet. 

"The first game of the season is always difficult," said Swan. "There is no real video to go on from this year, we watched a little from last year, but (St. Thomas) will have new faces. The big focus for us has been on our team, making sure we are doing the things we have been working on and execute the things that are important to our style of play."

Following Thursday's contest, the Huskies will return home as they welcome Chicago State to DeKalb on Sunday evening, Aug. 25, for a 6 p.m. kickoff. Please note, this is a time change from the originally scheduled kickoff time. 

"We are really excited about getting home for the Chicago State game on Sunday," said Swan. "With kickoff at 6 pm, will are starting after all the welcome to campus events, so we are hoping for a bumper crowd and we would love to put on a positive performance for everyone."