General | September 15

DEKALB, Ill. – The NIU volleyball and men's and women's soccer teams are home this weekend as NIU Football heads to Arizona for a nationally-televised matchup against the Wildcats this week in Huskie Athletics.
 
Football
Saturday, Sept. 19: at Arizona, 9:30 p.m. CT – TV: TNT/HBO Max | Live Audio | Live Stats
 
The Huskies take the national stage this week as they head to Tucson, Ariz. to face the Arizona Wildcats Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. with the game telecast on TNT. It will be the first meeting between the Huskies and Wildcats on the gridiron and NIU's first game against a Big 12 opponent since Sept. 22, 2012 when the Huskies took down Kansas 30-23.
 
NIU outgained Illinois State last week 308-254 with 196 passing yards. DeAree Rogers tied a career-high with 11 receptions, collecting 74 yards and a touchdown. He also had 59 punt return yards. Telly Johnson Jr. rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.  The NIU defense forced two turnovers against the Redbirds as Andruw Ellis returned an interception 30 yards for a score.
 
Volleyball
Friday, Sept. 18: UIC, 6 p.m. – Tickets | ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
NIU Volleyball returns home to host UIC in Victor E. Court Friday night. The Huskies swept their way through the SIUE Cougar Clash last weekend, defeating Chicago State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and SIUE by 3-0 scores. The Huskies swept the SIUE Cougar Clash last weekend, winning all nine sets of volleyball. Katie Pahl led the Huskies with 27 kills over the weekend, averaging 3.00 per set with a.468 hitting percentage. Ava Grevengoed, Autumn Flynn, and Delaney Steers all had over 20 kills on the weekend as NIU hit at a .333 clip. Steers led NIU with six service aces while Flynn recorded 11 total blocks.
 
The Huskies have won five of the last six meetings against UIC, including a 3-0 sweep of the Flames in DeKalb in 2022.
 
Women's Soccer
Saturday, Sept. 19: Green Bay, 1 p.m. – Live Stats
 
The Huskie women's soccer team begins Horizon League play this Saturday as it welcomes Green Bay to DeKalb. NIU has conceded just one goal in its last two games, a narrow 1-0 setback against Loyola Chicago in the final game of non-conference play. Freshman goalkeeper Alexandra Devory ranks eighth nationally among freshmen with a .813 save percentage and 17th with a 1.16 goals against average.
 
Green Bay comes to DeKalb with an unbeaten, 5-0-2 mark in non-conference play. This will be the first meeting between NIU and Green Bay since 2021. 
 
Men's Soccer
Saturday, Sept. 19: Milwaukee, 7 p.m. – Live Stats
 
Unbeaten in its last four matches, the NIU men's soccer team comes home to host Milwaukee on Saturday night. The Huskies earned four points from their first two Horizon League games, defeating IU Indy, 2-0, before playing to a 1-1 draw at Oakland.
 
NIU and Milwaukee have met in every season since 1975, with the exception of the COVID spring campaign in 2021. Since 1981, the two programs have played for the Lewang Cup. The trophy is named in honor of former Milwaukee assistant and NIU head coach John Lewang, who came to NIU as head coach in 1980 following his time as an assistant at Milwaukee. Lewang died in a car accident after his first season leading the Huskies and the two programs have honored his memory with the trophy game ever since.
 
Cross Country
Friday, Sept. 18: Redbird Invite, 10:30 a.m. – Live Results
 
Cross Country is back on course on Friday morning at Illinois State's Redbird Invite. The Huskies won the season-opening Huskie Classic on Sept. 4 with 40 points. Amelie Ojeda was NIU's top finisher, placing second in the 5K race with a time of 18:06/40. Ella Spencer, Sarah Maggio and Claire Helmila all finished in the top-10. It was NIU's first meet victory since winning the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2020.
 
Women's Golf
Sunday, Sept. 20-Monday, Sept. 21: Mary Fossum Invitational – Live Scoring
 
The Huskies return to action on Sunday at Michigan State's Mary Fossum Invitational at Forest Akers Golf Course. NIU opened the season last week with a seventh-place showing at the Redbird Invitational hosted by Illinois State. Junior Dakota Tallent led NIU with a top-25 finish, posting a 54-hole score of 226 to tie for 24^th. Tallent and freshman Benzy Buakong carded NIU's lowest round of the week with each posting an even par 72.
 
Men's Tennis
Friday, Sept. 18-Saturday, Sept. 19: River Forest Collegiate invitational
 
NIU men's tennis continues its fall season this weekend by hosting the River Forest Collegiate Invitational in River Forest, Ill. Last weekend the Huskies opened the fall calendar by competing in the Milwaukee Tennis Classic. Sophomore Constantin Radu was the top performer for NIU, recording three singles wins and advancing to the finals of the back draw with a 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-7 win over Texas Tech's Imran Daniel Abdul Hazli. Junior Curzio Manucci and senior Saul Berdullas also each notches singles wins. 
 
--NIU--