DEKALB, Ill. – A busy weekend on campus sees the Huskie football, volleyball and women's soccer teams all compete at home. Men's soccer will open league play while cross country and men's golf will also be in action. 

Football
Saturday, Sept. 27: vs. San Diego State, 2:30 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Audio | Live Stats | Buy Tickets

NIU football (1-2) returns to Huskie Stadium following a pair of road trips to power four conference teams to host San Diego State (2-1). Last week against Mississippi State, junior wide receiver DeAree Rogers hauled in six catches for 84 receiving yards and scored his first touchdown of the year. Redshirt senior linebacker Quinn Urwiler recorded a career-high 14 tackles, his third consecutive game with 10+ tackles. 

San Diego State enters Saturday coming off a 34-0 win over California at home. SDSU head coach Sean Lewis severed as Kent State's head coach from 2018-22 and is 1-1 against the Huskies. The Aztecs lead the Mountain West Conference and rank 24th in the FBS in team defense, allowing 260.0 yards per game. 

Volleyball
Thursday, Sept. 25: vs. Central Michigan, 6 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats | Buy Tickets
Friday, Sept. 26: vs. Eastern Michigan, 6 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats | Buy Tickets

The Huskies return home this week as they host Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan this week inside Victor E. Court. NIU takes on the Chippewas of CMU on Sept. 25 before facing the Eagles of EMU with both games set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Thursday (Sept. 25) is Y2K night, with a throwback to the early 2000's while Friday (Sept. 26) is Wear Red night in the VEC.
 
The Huskies are off to their best start since the 2011 season, holding a 7-2 record as they enter MAC play. When the Huskies started 7-2 in 2011, they went on to win the MAC Championship that season. NIU has seen seven of their first nine games last four or more sets and are led offensively by Ava Grevengoed and Emma McCartney. McCartney and Delaney Steers were named to the IU Indy All-Tournament team in the Huskies last time in action.

Women's Soccer
Thursday, Sept. 25: vs. Akron, 7 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats | Free Admission
Sunday, Sept. 28: at UMass, 12 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats

The Huskie women's soccer team will play a pair of matches this week as NIU hosts Akron on Thursday night (Sept. 25) before traveling to UMass on Sunday (Sept. 28). NIU is coming off a 1-1 draw last time out at Toledo (Sept. 18) as Jordin Kadiri netted her first collegiate goal in the contest.

Akron comes into the week with a 3-3-2 overall record and a 0-1-1 league mark after beginning conference play with a setback against UMass and a draw with Ohio. In its first season in the MAC, UMass is 3-3-2 overall and 1-1-0 in the league with a victory over Akron and a defeat to Ball State. 

Men's Soccer
Saturday, Sept. 27: at Drake, 7 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats

NIU men's soccer begins Missouri Valley Conference play this Saturday (Sept. 27) as the Huskies travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake. NIU is coming off a 4-1 victory over Governors State on Sunday (Sept. 21). Tobias Crear scored a pair of goals while Vance Sheffield and Katai Mukuka also scored against the Jaguars. Crear became the first Huskie freshman to score two goals in a game since Kevin Galiano on Feb. 26, 2021, against Chicago State. Sheffield and Mukuka are tied for the team lead with four goals. 

Drake is one of three unbeaten teams in the Missouri Valley, along with UIC and Belmont, as the Bulldogs bring a 5-0-3 mark into Saturday's matchup. 

Cross Country
Friday, Sept. 26: Gans Creek Classic (Columbia, Mo.), 10:30 a.m. – Live Video | Live Results

Huskie cross country returns to action for the first time since Sept. 5 when it travels to Columbia, Mo., on Friday to compete in the Gans Creek Classic at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, hosted by the University of Missouri. NIU is one of 27 teams scheduled to compete in the Black Race, which is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. 

Amelie Ojeda led the Huskies last time out with a fourth-place finish in the Huskie Classic. Ojeda has been the top-finishing Huskie in each of the first two meets of the season. 

Men's Golf
Sunday-Monday: Sept. 28-29: Jim DeLapa Collegiate (Benton Harbor, Mich.) – Live Scoring

The NIU men's golf team has a quick turnaround as the Huskies take the course at Point O' Woods Golf & Country Club in Benton Harbor, Mich. on Sunday for the Jim DeLapa Collegiate, hosted by Central Michigan. The Huskies finished fifth at the Badger Invitational on Sept. 23, posting a team score of three-under par 861. Junior Craig Long won the individual title with a career-low score of 11-under par 205. It was the lowest 54-hole score by an NIU golfer in nine years. Long played his last 27 holes bogey free. He moved up five spots on the leaderboard in the final round with a 65, one stroke shy of tying the NIU single-round scoring record. Long is the third Huskie in the last five years to win an individual title.