INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Vance Sheffield (West Linn, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep) opened the scoring and Katai Mukuka (Lusaka, Zambia) netted the game-winner as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team claimed a 2-1 victory over IU Indy on Tuesday evening (Sept. 9) at Carroll Stadium. 

"Very happy to get the win tonight," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "It was a tough trip coming down here and I thought, when we got off the bus, we looked a little heavy in the legs and I was a little concerned about it. Once the game started, I thought we were pretty good. We scored a goal relatively early and controlled the tempo of the game pretty well, especially in the first half."

The Jaguars had the first look at goal as Christian Nielsen fired a shot high over the bar in the fifth minute from the corner of the box. 

Less than a minute later the Huskies went in front on Sheffield's second goal of the season. Roman Khela (Huddersfield, England) provided the assist as Sheffield scored from just inside the 18-yard box, giving the Huskies the early lead. 

IU Indy (2-2-2) leveled the contest in the 35th minute as Jose Antonio Herrera finished from just outside the six-yard box to tie the match at 1-1. 

Just three minutes later the Huskies were back in front as Mukuka scored his third goal of the season. Jose Gomez (Roatan, Honduras) won the ball in midfield and found the run of Mukuka who beat Jaguar goalkeeper Cameron Maung-Maung as NIU took a 2-1 lead. 

A minute later, IU Indy nearly leveled the game again as Nathaniel Isom hit the crossbar with an effort from near the top of the 18-yard box. 

Sheffield had a chance to double NIU's lead just before halftime, but his shot was saved by Maung-Maung.

Just past the hour mark, NIU had a pair of chances as Joe Hernandez (Bensenville, Ill./York Community) and Dasha Curiel (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) both had efforts stopped by Declan Finnegan, who came on at halftime in goal for the Jaguars. 

Huskie goalkeeper Atahan Arslan (Ismir, Turkiye) was called up for the first time in the second half in the 64th minute, stopping a shot from Isom. 

In the 78th minute, Tomasz Slawek (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) had a chance from a corner, but his effort missed wide of goal from near the edge of the six-yard box. 

NIU (3-1-1) continued to have more of the play to the final whistle as Gomez had a shot stopped by Finnegan in the 87th minute. The Huskies outshot the Jaguars 22-8 in the contest, Maung-Maung made three first half saves for IU Indy, Finnegan made four in the second half while Arslan made two stops in goal for the Huskies.

NIU will return home on Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Huskies host St. Thomas. Kickoff against the Tommies is slated for 1 p.m.