Volleyball: NIU came away with two wins after touring Michigan to end its road schedule of the regular season. The Huskies won both matches. The first was against Central Michigan on Friday, a match in which NIU swept (3-0) the opposing Chippewas. On Saturday, the Huskies took on Eastern Michigan, winning 3-1. NIU is 17-11 on the season with a 9-5 record in the MAC.

Women's Basketball: NIU played a preseason game at home against Lewis, taking a win in the exhibition, 76-72. The Huskies will begin their regular season schedule on Friday, November 8 at Green Bay. They'll face the Phoenix in a game set to begin at 7 p.m.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies have played three games over the week. At home, against Milwaukee on Wednesday, October 30, NIU dropped in a 1-0 final. On the following Saturday at Hartwick, NIU went to  overtime against the opposing Hawks, but ended up falling 2-1. Then, on Tuesday, October 5 against Western Michigan, the Huskies fell 2-1 once more. 

Football: The Huskies traveled to the east coast for another MAC affair against the UMass Minutemen. The team improved to 9-0 with a 5-0 conference record as they won 63-19. The 19 points was the second lowest figure that the Huskie defense had held opponents to all season in a single game. 

Women's Soccer: NIU saw its season come to a close with the games over the last week. On Thursday, the Huskies took on Toledo, dropping the rainy affair 2-1. On Sunday, they traveled to Miami (Ohio) for the first round of the MAC Championship Tournament, losing the match 3-0. The Huskies finished the season 6-11-3.

Men's Basketball: NIU played a preseason game against Rockford on Saturday, winning 90-57. The regular season begins on Friday, November 8 against Nebraska Omaha at home. The Huskies will begin with five straight home games, as the team will not travel until November 30 to take on Nebraska. 

Wrestling: Nine Huskie wrestlers placed at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. on Sunday. Shawn Scott and Jordan Northrup had the best finishes of any Huskie, both taking second in their respective weight class. Next for wrestling is the MSU Open, which will is scheduled for Saturday, November 9.

Cross Country: NIU participated in the MAC Championship Race, finishing 11^th overall. Meghan Heuer had the best finish of all Huskie competitors, taking 37^th place. On Friday, November 8, the Huskies have their last home event of the cross country season, the Huskie Open. It will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the NIU North 40. 

Volleyball: The Huskies had two games in the MAC over the last week, winning them both. On Thursday, NIU took on Western Michigan, winning 3-1. On the following Saturday, the Huskies faced Miami (Ohio) and beat the Redhawks, 3-1. NIU is now 15-11 on the season with a 7-5 conference record.

Women's Basketball: NIU played a preseason game at home against Lewis, taking a win in the exhibition, 76-72. The Huskies will begin their regular season schedule on Friday, November 8 at Green Bay. They'll face the Phoenix in a game set to begin at 7 p.m.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies have played three games over the week. At home, against Milwaukee on Wednesday, October 30, NIU dropped in a 1-0 final. On the following Saturday at Hartwick, NIU went to  overtime against the opposing Hawks, but ended up falling 2-1. Then, on Tuesday, October 5 against Western Michigan, the Huskies fell 2-1 once more. 

Football: The Huskies traveled to the east coast for another MAC affair against the UMass Minutemen. The team improved to 9-0 with a 5-0 conference record as they won 63-19. The 19 points was the second lowest figure that the Huskie defense had held opponents to all season in a single game. 

Women's Soccer: NIU saw its season come to a close with the games over the last week. On Thursday, the Huskies took on Toledo, dropping the rainy affair 2-1. On Sunday, they traveled to Miami (Ohio) for the first round of the MAC Championship Tournament, losing the match 3-0. The Huskies finished the season 6-11-3.

Men's Basketball: NIU played a preseason game against Rockford on Saturday, winning 90-57. The regular season begins on Friday, November 8 against Nebraska Omaha at home. The Huskies will begin with five straight home games, as the team will not travel until November 30 to take on Nebraska. 

Wrestling: Nine Huskie wrestlers placed at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. on Sunday. Shawn Scott and Jordan Northrup had the best finishes of any Huskie, both taking second in their respective weight class. Next for wrestling is the MSU Open, which will is scheduled for Saturday, November 9.

Cross Country: NIU participated in the MAC Championship Race, finishing 11^th overall. Meghan Heuer had the best finish of all Huskie competitors, taking 37^th place. On Friday, November 8, the Huskies have their last home event of the cross country season, the Huskie Open. It will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the NIU North 40. 

Volleyball: The Huskies had two games in the MAC over the last week, winning them both. On Thursday, NIU took on Western Michigan, winning 3-1. On the following Saturday, the Huskies faced Miami (Ohio) and beat the Redhawks, 3-1. NIU is now 15-11 on the season with a 7-5 conference record.

Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois won two games at home over the weekend. On Friday, against Kent State, the Huskies took the lead late and held on to win 2-1. Against Ohio on Sunday, NIU got out to a 2-0 lead midway through the second half and kept ahead of the opposing Bobcats to win 2-1. With the wins, the Huskies clinched a MAC Championship Tournament berth.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies played two matches over the week. The first was on Tuesday, October 22, a game that NIU won against Eastern Illinois, 3-0. On Saturday against Akron, the Huskies dropped a 2-1 affair on the road. The team is now 4-10-0 on the season with a 0-3-0  record in the MAC.

Football: NIU defeated Eastern Michigan 59-20 in a home game on Saturday. Four different players tossed a touchdown in the game, including Jordan Lynch, Drew Hare, Matt McIntosh, and Tommylee Lewis. Lynch also tied his career high in touchdown passes in a single game with four. The Huskies remained undefeated, standing at 8-0 on the season.

Volleyball: NIU split two MAC matches over the weekend. The Huskies played Ohio on Friday, losing 3-1. On Saturday, the team swept Kent State, improving to 13-11 on the season. NIU is currently 5-5 in the MAC. The Huskies have six games remaining on the regular season schedule.

Wrestling: The wrestling team had its annual Red/Black Dual to start the wrestling season. Black won the preseason event, 21-15. Five matches were decided by three points or fewer. The Huskies will be on the road for their first in-season meet, which is slated to be on Monday, November 3 in Brookings, S.D.

Football: NIU took on Akron in the homecoming football game. The Huskies won 27-20 after a defensive battle with the opposing Zips. NIU rushed for 173 yards as a team with two 80+-yard rushers. Jimmie Ward recorded his fourth consecutive game with an interception.

Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois began MAC play over the weekend with the team touring Michigan. First up was Eastern Michigan on Friday, a 4-1 loss for the Huskies. On Sunday, NIU took on Western Michigan, which also ended in a loss for the Huskies, this one being a 4-2 final.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies played just a single game, which was on Saturday against Michigan State. They lost 2-0 to the opposing Spartans, falling to 3-6-0 on the season. NIU has just two more non-conference games left in the season, and the team will begin conference play this upcoming weekend against West Virginia.

Football: Northern Illinois traveled to Purdue for its third away game this season. The Huskies came home victorious in a 55-24 final. The game was close after the first quarter, but after 38 points combined in the second and third quarters, the Huskies were comfortably ahead to the point where they brought in backups to finish the game.

Volleyball: NIU played two games over the week. The first was at Western Michigan on Thursday, in which the Huskies came back from down two sets to one to win 3-2. The second was at Bowling Green, where the team lost in straight sets, 3-0. 

Cross Country: NIU attended the Roger Griak Invitional in Minnesota on Saturday. The Huskies finished 27th overall. Ali Olson had the best finish on the team, ending her race in 151^st place out of 300 competitors. 

Men's Golf: Northern Illinois competed in the Badger Invitational, held at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis. The team finished 13th overall, and they were lead by Nick Huggins, who tied for 33rd overall. Huggins had a three-round total of 226, his best round coming to open the invitational when he shot a 73.

Women's Golf: The Huskies competed in the Kangaroo Invitational, held at the Shoal Creek Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo. They finished fourth out of the nine competing teams, being just five strokes behind third place UKMC. Casey LaBarbera lead NIU with a three-round total of 232, her best round being the second when she shot a 74. 

Football: NIU improved to 3-0 after a tight 43-39 victory against the Eastern Illinois Panthers. The Huskies were down 20-0 mid-way through the first quarter, but a 30-0 run by the team propelled them to the 22^nd straight home victory for NIU.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois played two games last weekend in the Northwestern Lakeside Classic. The first was a 2-1 loss against Farleigh Dickinson on Friday. In the second game against Saint Mary's on Sunday, NIU was able to reverse the result from Friday and claim its own 2-1 victory.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies closed out non-conference play when they traveled to Chicago for a match against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers. The game ended in a 1-0 loss for NIU, making it five straight games in which the Huskies have failed to record a win. NIU is now 2-5-1 on the season.

Men's Tennis: Northern Illinois competed in the Drake Invitational with seven other teams. The team was able to take one of the four flights in the event. The Huskies also went undefeated in consolation matches. On the first day, one doubles team was able to make it to the final round of the flight before falling.

Men's Golf: NIU played in the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, held in Zionsville, Ind. The team finished 14^th overall after three rounds of play. Pierrick Fillon had the best performance for the Huskies, producing a three-round total of 236. His best round was the third, in which he scored a 75.

Volleyball: The Huskies went unbeaten in the Huskie Invitational volleyball tournament held over the weekend. The team went 3-0 to improve to 8-6 overall. On Friday, NIU beat George Washington 3-0 and IPFW 3-1. On Saturday, the Huskies swept Oakland, 3-0. 

Volleyball - The Huskies played four matches over the last week, going 1-3 in those affairs. Their record now stands at 5-6 on the season. The win came against Southern Utah in the New Mexico State tournament. NIU featured a balanced offensive attack in that one, with Jenna Radtke, Sarah Angelos, and Mackenzie Roddy each having more than 10 kills in all.

Men's Soccer - Northern Illinois split two games in the NIU Adidas Invitational, falling 1-0 against Butler on Friday, but winning 2-1 against Green Bay on Sunday. Sean Totsch and Jayson LeSeth each had goals in the win against the Green Bay Phoenix. The Huskies are now 2-4-0 on the season.

Women's Soccer - NIU went 0-1-1 on the weekend, dropping the first game at Green Bay 1-0 and tying Western Illinois in a home game, 1-1. Cori Frankenberg scored her second goal of the season in the game against WIU. NIU is now 2-4-1.

Men's Tennis - Northern Illinois pulled down the best team score in the River Forest Invitational. Jovan Zeljkovic won both flights he took part in; the #4 Singles and #3 Doubles. In that doubles bracket, he teamed up with Matt Lynch. The Huskies also had several players finish third in their flights.

Women's Tennis - Arantza de la Torre and Cristina Alvarez both won flights in the Chicago State Invitational. The team also had other players and doubles teams who finished third or better in their flights. The Huskies don't have another event until the first weekend of October.

Cross Country - The Huskies finished fourth in the Illinois State Invitational on Friday, held at the Weibring Golf Course in Normal, Ill. Ali Olson produced the best finish for NIU, taking 16h place in the event. She had a time of 18:19.24 as she crossed the finish line.

Women's Golf - NIU competed in the Cougar Classic, hosted by Chicago State at Harborside International Golf Center. Play ran on Monday and Tuesday earlier this week. Samantha Coyne faired best for the Huskies, finishing eighth among individual players. As a team, the Huskies placed seventh overall.

 

Volleyball: NIU played three matches over the week, going 2-1 to improve its record to 4-3 on the season. On Wednesday, the Huskies played a back-and-forth match against Western Illinois and won in five sets. On Saturday, NIU faced No. 3 USC and dropped the match in four sets. Later that day, the Huskies took on Belmont and won in four sets. Also of note is that Sarah Angelos became the 20^th member of the Huskie 1000-kill club with her performances in those matches.

Women's Soccer: NIU traveled to Brookings S.D. for two games at the Jackrabbit Invitational. They ended up losing both. On Friday, it was a 3-1 loss against South Dakota in which Nicole Gobbo scored her second goal of the season. On Sunday, a late header from opposing South Dakota State sealed a 2-1 defeat for the Huskies.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies faced stiff competition in Bearcat Soccer Classic held in Cincinnati, Ohio over the weekend. Both games ended in overtime losses. The first was a 3-2 loss against Evansville on Friday. On Sunday, they took on No. 14 Saint Louis and lost 1-0. An interesting bit here is that in the second game, the Huskies played man down for more than half of the game and were able to hold the opposition scoreless until a second overtime period.

Cross Country: The Huskies took first their first cross country meet in dominating fashion, taking six of the first seven finish   spots. Held at the NIU North 40 on Friday, NIU had all but two runners place in the top 14. Leah Laffety had the best time, crossing the finish line at 19:29.85.

Men's Golf: NIU finished 15 th in the first golf tournament of the year, held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. Nick Huggins had the best single round of Huskie golfers, posting a 74 (+2) in the second round on Saturday.

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men's Golf: NIU placed 13 th as a team in the Redbird Invitational, hosted by Illinois State University at the Weibring Golf Club. Sydney Brickey had the best scores for the huskies (76, 82, 79), scoring 237 overall.

Check out this visual media day recap via Storify

Men's Basketball: Northern Illinois dropped their season opener Friday with a 77-64 defeat at Nebraska Omaha. Aksel Bolin paced NIU with 11 points, while freshman Daveon Balls added 10 for the Huskies.
Women's Basketball: The Huskies started their year off Monday with a tight 45-42 exhibition win over Indiana Wesleyan, as  Amanda Corral led NIU with 12 points and sank to critical free throws late. The squad kicked off their regular season Friday night in Iowa City, Iowa, when they dropped a 63-40 decision to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Football:  The Huskies moved to 9-1 on the year with a 63-0 shutout victory over the UMass Minutemen. QB Jordan Lynch combined for over 300 yards of total offense, while the NIU defense forced four turnovers. The shutout was the first by NIU since Sept. 27, 2008, when they blanked Eastern Michigan, 37-0.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive season during the week, but not without some added drama. The week began with a 2-0 loss at Western Michigan, putting NIU in a "win or go home" situation Friday at Buffalo. However, Northern punched their ticket to Akron with a tight 1-0 win against the Bulls.

Football:  The Huskies extended their winning streak to eight games Saturday with a 48-34 victory at Western Michigan. After trailing 21-17 at halftime, the NIU offense exploded for 31 points in the second half to put away the Broncos. Jordan Lynch threw for 274 yards and rushed for 136 in the win.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois notched two huge wins during the past week to improve their standing heading into the final week of the regular season. On Wednesday, the Huskies scored a 1-0 overtime win at Northwestern following Charlie Oliver's goal in the 91st minute. Their Saturday match against West Virginia followed a similar script, with Isaac Kannah scoring in the 84th minute for a 1-0 win over the Mountaineers.

Football:  The Huskies won their 16th game in the last 17 and improved to 7-1 in 2012 with a convincing 37-7 victory at Akron. Along with Jordan Lynch's 131 rushing yards, the NIU defense held the Zips to 199 yards of total offense, including only 42 rushing yards on 37 carries.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois' offense continued to struggle this week as they completed a 0-1-1 week. On Wednesday, the Huskies could not complete the comeback on the road as they fell to Valparaiso, 2-1. Three days later, NIU and Bowling Green battled to a 0-0 tie in DeKalb.

Football: The Huskies became bowl eligible Saturday with a dominant 45-3 Homecoming victory over Buffalo. Jordan Lynch combined for 361 yards of total offense, while the Huskie defense forced three turnovers on the day. The win marks the fifth straight season that NIU reached the six-win mark.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois battled two of the nation's top five programs this week, but could not pull out a win in either match. The Huskies battled No. 4 Marquette on Tuesday, but lost 1-0 after the Golden Eagles scored in the 80th minute. NIU returned to MAC play on Saturday when they fell to No. 3 Akron, 2-0.

Football:  Northern Illinois extended their winning streak to five games with a 35-23 win at Ball State to keep the Bronze Stalk. After trailing the Cardinals 23-21 late in the fourth quarter, Jordan Lynch found Akeem Daniels for a 54-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score. About one and a half minutes later, Lynch outran the BSU defense for a 71-yard scoring run to put the game away. The junior QB combined for 402 yards of total offense in the win.

Men's Soccer: NIU improved to 2-0 in MAC play with a 1-0 win against the Hartwick Hawks Saturday in DeKalb. The match's lone tally came in the 68th minute when Gael Rivera beat Hartwick's goaltender with a hard header.

Football:  Northern Illinois opened MAC play on a positive note Saturday with a 55-24 dismantling of Central Michigan at Huskie Stadium. Leighton Settle ran for 152 yards and Jordan Lynch gained 144 yards on the ground as a part of NIU's 407 total rushing yards. In addition, a fake punt by Ryan Neir and fake field goal touchdown by Mathew Sims sparked NIU to victory.

Men's Soccer: NIU started conference play with a 2-0 win on the road against the Florida Atlantic Owls. After struggling offensively in the non-conference slate, the Huskies got goals from Isaac Kannah and James Stevenson. Jordan Godsey shut out FAU for his third shutout of the year and 29th of his career.

Football:  Northern Illinois captured a huge victory on their home turf Saturday with a 30-23 win against Kansas. Trailing 23-13 early in the fourth quarter, Jordan Lynch led a 17-point comeback in the final stanza to give NIU their second comeback win in as many weeks. Lynch combined for 369 yards offensively, while the defense tallied four sacks of KU's Dayne Crist.

Men's Soccer: NIU lost both of their matches at New Mexico's Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. Friday, the Huskies went into their fourth overtime game of the year against Denver. However, the Pioneers found the back of the net in the 109th minute for a 3-2 win. Northern ended their weekend with a 3-0 loss to the No. 5 and host Lobos.

Football:  Northern Illinois hit the road for the first time in 2012 and escaped West Point, N.Y., with a 41-40 victory over the Army Black Knights. Jordan Lynch combined for 467 yards of total offense - the third-highest single game total in NIU history - and the defense came up with a huge stop inside of two minutes to cap off the rally. The win was also NIU's first road opener win since 2007.

Men's Soccer: NIU split its two matches over the weekend at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic. They opened the tournament with a tough 1-0 loss in the annual LeWang Cup match against Milwaukee. However, they rebounded Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Iona.

Football: Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch  and running back Leighton Settle  powered the Huskies  to a 35-7 win over UT Martin Saturday night at Huskie Stadium. The duo combined for 166 rushing yards on 32 carries for three touchdowns as both averaged over five yards per carry against the Skyhawks for NIU's first win of the 2012 campaign. 

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois tied both of their matches in the NIU adidas Invitational. On Friday, Northern and Rhode Island battled to a 0-0 tie, with the Huskies limiting the Rams to only one shot. Sunday followed with a 1-1 tie against Drake.

Football:  The Huskies pushed Iowa to the brink Saturday in Chicago, but fell in heartbreaking fashion as the Hawkeyes scored late to claim an 18-17 victory. NIU led for the majority of the game and held a 17-9 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, Iowa's Damon Bullock scored the decisive points on a 23-yard run with 2:15 left in the game. The Huskie defense, though, was a huge bright spot in the game, collecting six sacks of James Vandenberg and limited the Hawkeyes to 268 total yards.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois lost in excruciating fashion Friday night when they fell to Green Bay in double overtime, 2-1. The Huskies' lone goal of the game came in the 69th minute when James Stevenson found Gael Rivera for a quick shot that tied the match at 1-1. Yet, the Phoenix won the match with a winner in the 102nd minute.

On the eve of reporting day for the NIU men's soccer program, Travis Clark at Top Drawer Soccer has a preview of the Mid-American Conference. The big news for the league this season is the addition West Virginia who, along with NIU and Akron, gives the league three teams that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago. Both the Mountaineers (Oct. 27) and the Zips (Oct. 13) come to DeKalb this season.

With just over a week before the NIU men's soccer team reports for preseason camp, sophomore midfielder Jayson LeSeth spoke to the Journal & Topics Newspapers about his first season as a Huskie, what it was like to become a Division I soccer player and the upcoming season. LeSeth and the Huskies will be on the field for the first time on August 12 when they host Notre Dame in an exhibition contest at 12:30 p.m.

Anthony Zilis of the Daily Chronicle recently caught up with three members of the NIU men's soccer team, Jordan Godsey, Isaac Kannah and Sean Totsch, who have spent the summer playing with the Chicago Fire's Premier Development League (PDL) team. The PDL is the highest level of amateur soccer in the U.S., featuring most of the top college players from around the country. In the case of the Chicago Fire team, the Huskies received the added benefit of working alongside professional players throughout the summer. 

This is playoff week for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy in Frisco, Texas, where the clubs of four future Huskies are competing in the 32-team field, hoping to qualify for the finals to be held in Houston, Texas in mid-July. The Chicago Fire Under-18 team and the Lonestar SC Under-18 team both feature players who will suit up for the Huskies.

Charlie Oliver is representing NIU and the Chicago Fire, who dropped their opening match 2-1 on Monday. Oliver and the Fire return to the field tonight at 8:30 p.m. Bertrand Gaschot, Kyle McDonald and Parker Thornton are all members of the Lonestar Under-18 team that fell in their opening match yesterday, 1-0. Lonestar returns to the field tonight, also at 8:30 p.m.

In other news involving incoming soccer players, Matt Pritchard from Creighton Prep in Omaha, Neb., was named as the co-captain of the Nebraska All-State team by the Lincoln Journal Star after helping lead Creighton Prep to another state championship.

Current NIU soccer players Jordan Godsey, Isaac Kannah and Sean Totsch saw their U.S. Open Cup adventure end at the hands of former Huskie Kyle Knotek on Tuesday night as the Dayton Dutch Lions eliminated the Chicago Fire Premier Development League team, 2-1, in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Godsey, Kannah and Knotek all started the match as the two teams tangled for the right to move on to play the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer in the third round. Kannah nearly opened the scoring in the 25th minute as his shot from just outside the box forced an excellent diving save from the Lion goalkeeper. After the Fire tied the match in the 90th minute, the Lions answered in stoppage time to claim the victory and advance to the next round.

Knotek and the Lions will meet the Crew next Tuesday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET in Columbus.  

Three members of the Northern Illinois men's soccer team, Jordan Godsey, Isaac Kannah and Sean Totsch, helped the Chicago Fire Premier Development League team to a 1-0 victory over the Croatian Eagles on Tuesday night in the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Kannah scored the lone goal for the Fire while Godsey made seven saves en route to the shutout. With the victory, the Fire PDL team advances to play the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Pro Division next Tuesday, May 22, at the Toyota Park Practice Field in Bridgeview, Ill., at 6 p.m.

In its 99th year, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States. Should Godsey, Kannah, Totsch and the Fire PDL team defeat the Dayton Dutch Lions next Tuesday, they would be drawn to play against a Major League Soccer team in the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Tuesday was an exciting day for the NIU men's soccer program as their 2011 Mid-American Conference Championship rings arrived. The rings commemorate not only NIU's conference championship but also the Huskies' trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and school record-tying 15 wins. The Huskies will open the home portion of their 2012 spring schedule on Saturday, March 31 when they host UIC at the NIU Soccer Complex at noon.

This past week was one characterized by big games for NIU Athletics. Football took a step closer to their second-straight MAC title, volleyball tried to take home the MAC Tournament championship and men's soccer advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA College Cup.

Football: Northern Illinois trailed by as many as 17 points against the archrival Ball State Cardinals, but an explosive offense and an effective two minute drill helped lift the Huskies to a 41-38 victory over BSU. In the game, Chandler Hanrish set a school record with 519 yards of total offense, while Mathew Sims' two field goals late in the game helped NIU tie then win the Battle for the Bronze Stalk.
Volleyball: For the second straight season, the Huskies came up just short in their quest for the MAC Tournament championship, NIU swept Bowling Green, 3-0, on Friday to advance to the semifinals. There, they took down Ball State, 3-1, to set up a showdown with Central Michigan Sunday afternoon. Yet, it was not meant to be for NIU. After trailing, 2-0, the Huskies stormed back to tie the match a two sets apiece, but the Chippewas would take the decisive fifth set by a 15-11 margin to win the tournament, 3-2.
Men's Basketball: Northern Illinois' struggles continued on the hardwood this week, as the team went 0-3 with two close losses at home and one on the road at Iowa. Monday, NIU nearly pulled off an amazing comeback in the final minutes against Milwaukee, but it was the Panthers who emerged with a 59-57 win. The Huskies then traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, Thursday, where they ran into a hot-shooting Hawkeye team, falling 88-55. The team completed their week at home against Eastern Illinois with a 67-55 loss to the Panthers.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies went two-for-two in DeKalb this week with two exciting wins in the Convocation Center. On Wednesday, NIU went to double overtime against Western Illinois before taking a 91-84 decision against the Leathernecks. In the game, six Huskies scored in double figures. Northern followed that up with an impressive 58-52 win against the Temple Owls, a team that was nationally-ranked a season ago.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois' season came to a close this past week in the NCAA College Cup, as the team advanced to the Round of 32 before bowing out. The Huskies opened up their tournament with a bang Thursday with a 3-0 win against Western Illinois in the tournament's opening round. NIU's defense played a major factor in the game, allowing the Leathernecks only one shot on goal the whole 90 minutes. That run, however, came to an abrupt halt on Sunday, as the Creighton Bluejays used their nationally-ranked defensive unit to stop the Huskies, 3-0.

The Huskies' schedule for Thanksgiving week includes a trio of games sandwiched around Turkey Day. On Wednesday, the women's basketball team will welcome Bradley to the Convo for a Thanksgiving Eve tilt at 7 p.m. Then on Friday, football will try to clinch the MAC West championship and a spot in the Marathon MAC Championship game at 10 a.m. when they face the Eagles of Eastern Michigan. The Huskies' Thanksgiving homestand wraps up Saturday afternoon when volleyball takes on BIG EAST power Marquette at 4 p.m. inside Victor E. Court. Additionally, wrestling travels to Bloomington, Ind., for the Hoosier Duals and basketball heads west for a Saturday night game against Boise State.

Two Mid-American Championships in one weekend. Take a deep breath, and say it again... 

Needless to say, it's a great day to be Huskie. Thursday night, the women's volleyball team claimed the MAC West and regular season titles with a 3-1 triumph at Western Michigan, the Huskies first at WMU since 2007. To boot, it was NIU's first MAC regular season championship in a decade.

Fast forward to Sunday and teleport to Akron from Kalamazoo, and the Huskies triumphed over Western Michigan Sunday in similar 1-0 fashion to clinch the Mid-American Conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament - the first such championship for NIU since 2006.

Let me repeat my opening statement: It's a great day to be a Huskie!

To honor the outstanding accomplishments by these men and women, NIU will honor the team's during the men's basketball game tonight (Nov. 14) against Milwaukee during a timeout and will also congratulate the team's in the first quarter of NIU's Black Out football game versus Ball State. Both games will begin at 7 p.m.

If fans of the men's soccer team would like to celebrate with the Huskies today, Fatty's will be hosting a NCAA Selection Party at 3:30 p.m. Come on out and watch to see what lies ahead on the road less traveled for the Northern Illinois Huskies.

It was a monumental week for Northern Illinois athletics, as the men's soccer team won the MAC Tournament championship - earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament in the process - and the volleyball team won the MAC West Division and regular season titles.

Football: The Huskie offense kept up their offensive momentum Tuesday against Bowling Green with a 45-14 thrashing of the Falcons. Chandler Harnish led the NIU attack with 294 yards passing and 151 on the ground, while the entire offense accumulated 623 total yards on the BGSU defense. On the other side of the line, the Huskie defense shut out the Falcon offense in the second half, limiting them to a measly 90 yards in the last 30 minutes of the game.
Volleyball: Northern Illinois went 2-0 during the week to clinch the 2011 MAC regular season championship and the top seed in this week's MAC Tournament. On Thursday, the team traveled to Kalamazoo, Mich., where they dispatched the Western Michigan Broncos, 3-1, to wrap up the MAC title. The Huskies extended their winning streak to 13 matches Saturday with a hard-fought 3-2 win against Bowling Green.
Men's Basketball: NIU opened their regular season Friday night in West Lafayette, Ind., where they fell to the Purdue Boilermakers, 96-34, in the rededication of Mackey Arena. Tim Toler paced the Huskie offense with 11 points on the night, while Freshman wing Abdel Nader added nine points and freshman forward Kevin Gray grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

Women's Basketball: The Huskies dropped two games during the week to open their 2011-12 season. Tuesday, the team lost in an exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan, 61-52, as NIU struggled to find any offense. They followed that up Sunday by dropping a 73-42 decision in Chicago against the Ramblers of Loyola. Ashley Sneed led NIU with a career-high 12 points on the day.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois brought home the MAC Tournament championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament over the weekend with a pair of wins in Akron, Ohio. In the semifinals Friday, the Huskies used a Gael Rivera second half goal to get past Buffalo, 1-0, meaning they would face fourth-seeded Western Michigan, who upset top-seed Akron on penalty kicks earlier in the day. Sunday's title match also came down to the wire, but Sean Totsch found the back of the WMU net with 6:40 left in regulation to win, 1-0. NIU's NCAA Tournament opponent will be determined Monday afternoon on NCAA.com.

Wrestling: Northern Illinois put two wrestlers on the podium Saturday at the Michigan State Open, as Nick Smith and Rob Jillard both took top four finishes in East Lansing, Mich. Smith, who was competing less than two hours from his hometown of Ida, Mich., advanced all the way to the finals after winning three matches at 125. However, he would fall in the championship to Northwestern's Levi Mele. Jillard finished fourth at 133 after making it to the semifinals with two dominating wins.

Cross Country: The NIU cross country team closed out their 2011 season Saturday when they hosted the 2011 NCAA Midwest Regional. The team finished 28th behind Courtney Oldenburg's time of 23:21.16 on the 6K NIU North 40 to finish 121st. Further behind the junior was freshman Jamie Burr, who posted a season-best second place showing among Huskie runners with a time of 24:25.02 to take 164th overall.

Northern will have at least one team competing every day this week, including a host of games in DeKalb. Football highlights the week with a Tuesday night showdown against Ball State at Huskie Stadium in the Battle for the Bronze stalk. In addition, men's and women's basketball each have a pair of home games, including a doubleheader Sunday, while men's soccer will learn their opponent for Thursday's first round Monday afternoon. The top-seeded women's volleyball team will head east to Geneva, Ohio, to compete in the MAC Tournament.

With the move into November, Northern Illinois also began the transition to its winter sports schedule with men's basketball and wrestling opening their schedules and football, men's soccer and volleyball entering the home stretch of their respective slates.

Football: It was a wild game in Toledo's Glass Bowl between NIU and the Rockets, but it was the Huskies who emerged victorious by a 63-60 score. Trailing by four late in the fourth quarter, Huskie QB Chandler Harnish found Perez Ashford in the back corner of the endzone with 19 seconds left to give NIU the win, a share of the MAC West lead and bowl eligibility. Among the standout performances were Harnish's career-high six touchdown passes - three of which went to Nathan Palmer - and Tommylee Lewis' two kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Volleyball: Northern Illinois earned its 22nd and 23rd wins of the season and extended their current winning streak to 11 over the weekend at Victor E. Court with victories over MAC West rivals Toledo and Ball State. On Friday, the Huskies used a .429-.256 hitting percentage advantage and nine aces to defeat the Rockets, 3-0. NIU earned a critical 3-0 win Saturday night to push themselves into a tie for first place with Western Michigan.
Men's Basketball: The young Huskies squad showed signs of promise during Friday's exhibition against Carthage College, but it was the Red Men's 13 three-pointers that doomed NIU in Carthage's 74-70 overtime win at the Convocation Center. Abdel Naber put up a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Tim Toler scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.

Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois wrapped up their 2011 regular season schedule by splitting a pair of road matches. The Huskies outshot Milwaukee Wednesday, 21-10, but were unable to fin the back of the net in a 1-0 non-conference loss, ceding control of the Lewang Cup. Northern would return to their winning ways on Saturday, though, with a crucial 2-1 win against the Hartwick Hawks. The victory gave NIU the No. 2 seed in this weekend's MAC Tournament in Akron.

Wrestling: The Huskies opened their 2011-12 regular season with a split in the triangular with North Central and No. 21 Stanford. After a sluggish start, NIU posted four straight wins to take a 30-15 decision against the North Central Cardinals. Later, Northern dropped a tough one to the nationally-ranked Cardinal, 20-13, after leading 13-7 through six matches.

NIU enters the thick of November with a busy week coming up. On Tuesday, the football team travels to Bowling Green to take on the Falcons and women's basketball takes on Indiana Wesleyan in the Convocation Center in exhibition action. In addition, volleyball closes out their regular season with two big road matches at Western Michigan and Bowling Green, men's soccer heads to the MAC Tournament, wrestling competes in the Michigan State Open, and both basketball teams open their regular seasons on the road (men at Purdue; women at Loyola).

The Huskies closed out October with a light week of competition, as only five teams were in action. Despite the short week, it was a highly successful one with volleyball extending their season-long winning streak and men's soccer clinching a spot in the MAC Tournament.

Volleyball: The Huskies made it nine in a row this weekend in Michigan as they recorded wins at Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. On Friday, NIU avenged last month's home loss to the Eagles with a 3-1 victory in Ypsilanti, Mich. The win also gave Huskie head coach Ray Gooden his fourth 20-win season in ten season at Northern. The Huskies followed that up Saturday with another 3-1 win, this time against the Chippewas of Central Michigan.
Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois posted their third-straight conference win and clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament with a 3-0 rout of Bowling Green. Pat Sloan, Kenny Kranz and Jayson LeSeth all scored goals for the Huskies in the win, while goalie Jordan Godsey made four saves to record the shutout. The shutout was the ninth of the season for NIU.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies closed out their 2011 season with a tough 2-0 loss to Western Michigan in DeKalb. NIU had several chances to score, but was unable to find the back of the net in the loss. Northern finishes the season with a 2-15-2 record overall and 1-10-0 in the MAC.

Cross Country: Northern Illinois placed 11th at the MAC Championships Saturday in Muncie, Ind., posting a one spot improvement from last season. Courtney Oldenburg led the way for NIU with a time of 23:01.60, taking 54th place in the field. In second place for the Huskies was Claire McAuley, who crossed the finish line in 23:05.10.

Wrestling: NIU kicked off their 2011-12 season Saturday afternoon with the annual Wrestle-Offs. The exhibition, which helps determine the starting lineup for the season, saw the Black team top Red by a 17-14 margin. Nick Smith, Kevin Fanta, Tyler Loethen and Arber Bebo notched wins for Black, while Rob Jillard, Caleb Busson, Mike Lukowski and Jared Torrence got wins for Red.

The Huskies kick off November with football taking on Toledo at the Glass Bowl Tuesday night and men's basketball opening their season with an exhibition at the Convocation Center against Carthage. In addition, volleyball is at home against Toledo and Ball State, wrestling hosts Stanford and North Central and men's soccer travels to Milwaukee and Hartwick.

It was clearly a successful week for Northern Illinois, as they won all but two games during the past week. Meanwhile, men's golf and women's tennis posted excellent performances in their final competitions of the fall season

Football: After building a 31-10 lead through three quarters, the Huskies held on to beat Buffalo Saturday, 31-30, when the Bulls missed what would have been the tying extra point with 14 seconds to go. During the game, Chandler Harnish broke another NIU career record by surpassing George Bork's completion record in the second quarter. On defense, the Huskies picked off two passes and recovered two muffed punt returns.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois pushed their winning streak to seven with two dominating wins over MAC East opponents over the weekend. On Friday, the Huskies blanked Kent State, 3-0, courtesy of 51 kills and a 33.6 hitting percentage. NIU repeated that performance Saturday against MAC East leader Ohio, sweeping the Bobcats, 3-0, in a rematch of last season's MAC Tournament championship.
Men's Soccer: NIU posted their first two wins in MAC play during the week to improve to 2-2 in conference and 10-4 overall. On Wednesday, the Huskies used two second half goals from James Stevenson and solid goaltending from Jordan Godsey to shut out Western Michigan, 3-0. For Sunday's Senior Day, it was Stevenson again who was the hero, finding the back of the net in the 41st minute to lift Northern past Florida Atlantic, 1-0.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies wrapped up the road portion of their schedule over the weekend, dropping two matches in Ohio. Against Miami (Ohio), the Huskies fell 3-0 after being outshot 19-8 in the match. The team's struggles continued Sunday, when they fell to Bowling Green by a 2-0 margin despite holding the Falcons without a shot in the first half.

Men's Golf: Northern Illinois traveled to Maryland Monday and Tuesday for the Georgetown Intercollegiate, placing seventh out of 12 teams. Bryce Emory paced the Huskies with a third place finish individually, while Matt Gorman took 27th place. The tournament was NIU's last for the fall season, as they will return to action in February for the MAC Match Play tournament.

Women's Tennis: The Huskies put the finishing touches on their 2011 fall season over the weekend, as they hosted the ITA Second Chance Regional in Rockford, Ill. In singles, the team posted eight wins over the weekend, while they were 4-2 in doubles play.

It will be a relatively light week for NIU Athletics, as only five teams will be in action. In DeKalb, women's soccer wraps up their season with a match Thursday against Western Michigan and wrestling begins their season Saturday with the annual Wrestle-Offs. Also, volleyball heads east to face Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan, men's soccer battles Bowling Green Saturday and cross country competes in the MAC Championships in Muncie, Ind.

The middle week of October was a successful one for NIU Athletics. The hallmark moment was off the field, though, as the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Practice Center Campaign kicked off Saturday before the Huskie football team took on Western Michigan for Homecoming. The 83,500 square foot facility will house a full-size, 120-yard artificial surface football practice field with buffer space surrounding the field on all sides, in addition to a four-lane track, batting cages, and storage cages, among other amenities.

Football: It was a very successful Homecoming for the Huskies, as NIU throttled West Division rival Western Michigan, 51-22. Northern accumulated 697 yards of total offense against the Broncos, including 494 on the ground. In addition, Chandler Harnish became the 11th quarterback in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision history to gain 200 yards rushing and passing in the same game.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois earned their second consecutive 2-0 weekend with two key wins over MAC East foes Akron and Buffalo. On Friday, the Huskies were pushed to five sets against the Zips, but used a commanding fifth set to propel them to a 3-2 win over UA. NIU returned to the court Saturday night against Buffalo, defeating the Bulls in a 3-0 sweep. Sophomore Lauren Wicinski led the Huskie attack with a career-high seven aces.
Men's Soccer: NIU traveled to Northwestern in their lone match of the week Wednesday. Despite solid defense in the first half and some chances on offense, the Wildcats dropped the Huskies at Lakeside Field, 2-0. The loss was the first for NIU against a Big Ten opponent in over two years.

Women's Soccer: It was a heartbreaking two matches for the Huskies, as they were dealt two one-goal losses at home. On Friday, NIU lost to Eastern Michigan, 1-0, on a windy day at the NIU Soccer Complex. The Huskies returned to action Sunday afternoon with a match against defending MAC champion Central Michigan. Despite limiting the Chippewas' offense to only seven shots on goal, Northern still dropped the match, 1-0.

Cross Country: The Huskies wrapped up their 2011 regular season with a 14th place out of 21 teams showing at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill. Courtney Oldenburg led the way for NIU with a time of 22:42.09, which ranks as the 12th best 6K time in NIU history.

Men's Tennis: NIU headed east to Columbus, Ohio, for the ITA Midwest Regionals. In the main draws, Axel Lagerlof advanced to the Round of 32 before falling to 15th-seeded Stephen Hoh of Illinois in straight sets. In doubles, Maksym Bartiuk and Roman Turtygin also advanced to the Round of 32, but fell to Ohio State's 12th-ranked duo of Kevin Metka and Steven Williams, 8-1.

Women's Golf: Northern Illinois could not solve the Hawthornes Golf and Country Club course Monday and Tuesday in Fishers, Ind., as they placed 14th at the MAC Preview. Allie Parthie led NIU tied for 72nd place with a 171-shot performance.

Six Huskie teams will be in action during the upcoming week, including a pair of men's soccer matches at the NIU Soccer Complex Wednesday and Sunday and volleyball hosting Kent State and MAC-leading Ohio at Victor E. Court.

Five Huskie teams were in action during the past week. Among the highlights were Saturday's football win over Kent State and volleyball's two wins in conference play.

Football: Northern Illinois returned to Huskie Stadium Saturday to post a dominating 40-10 victory over Kent State. The Huskie defense only allowed seven rushing yards and 70 yards of total offense on the day, while recording 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks in the rout. Chandler Harnish found the endzone twice and Matthew Sims was a perfect four-for-four on field goals.

Volleyball: The Huskies won both of their matches during the week to improve to 4-2 in MAC play. On Thursday, NIU swept Western Michigan, 3-0, while sophomore Lauren Wicinski became the fastest Huskie to join the 1,000 kill club. Northern doubled Thursday's performance Saturday night by topping Miami (Ohio), 3-0, on NIU Volleyball Alumni Night.
Men's Soccer: The Huskies kicked off a three-game road trip Tuesday when they headed north to face Marquette. After going scoreless in regulation and in the first overtime, Jayson LeSeth launched a shot into the right corner of the MU net to win it for the Huskies, 1-0. NIU then traveled east to face defending NCAA champion Akron, where they fell to the No. 3 Zips, 2-0.

Women's Soccer: Northern Illinois tallied their first MAC win of the season Friday night, when they defeated Buffalo, 1-0. Lauren Eberts scored the lone goal with a marker in the 67th minute. On Sunday, NIU and Kent State combined for five goals in the match. However, KSU's two scores in the final four minutes of play edged them ahead of NIU, 3-2.

Women's Golf: The Huskies closed out their home tournament on Monday by placing seventh in the 12-team field. Allie Parthie paced NIU with a tie for ninth place, while Kelsie Passolt and Katie Kuhn both posted top 30 finishes at the Kishwaukee Country Club.

Northern Illinois' homecoming week will feature seven teams in action, including Saturday's crucial football game against Western Michigan and two home women's soccer matches.

Six Huskie teams were in action during the last full week of September, including volleyball opening MAC action at home and football closing up their non-conference slate against Cal Poly.

Football: Northern Illinois got back on track Saturday with a convincing 47-30 victory over Cal Poly. The Huskie offense set season-highs in first downs (33), rushing yards (355) and total yards (542), while the defense only allowed seven points in the first half to help NIU to a 34-7 halftime advantage. During the game, quarterback Chandler Harnish broke George Bork's 48-year record of touchdowns accounted for when he hit Perez Ashford on a three-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter.

Volleyball: The Huskies split their conference-opening matches over the weekend at Victor E. Court. NIU won only their second conference opener in 10 years on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of Central Michigan, extending their win streak to four and stopping CMU's win streak at four. That Huskie win streak, though, was snapped on Saturday night, as Eastern Michigan left DeKalb with a 3-1 victory over NIU.
Men's Soccer: Northern Illinois improved to 7-1 on the season Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Drake Bulldogs. The lone goal of the game came from the foot of James Stevenson, who pushed a shot past Drake goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec in the 26th minute. Jordan Godsey was again stellar in net with seven saves on the day.

Women's Soccer: NIU fought long and hard on Friday and Sunday, but lost both matches on their MAC opening weekend. The Huskies welcomed conference favorite Toledo to DeKalb on Friday and took them to overtime before falling 1-0 on an overtime goal by the Rockets. Their struggles continued on Sunday, as they dropped a 3-0 decision to Ball State.

Men's Golf: The Northern Illinois men's golf team headed to southern California for the Saint Mary's Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, where they finished tied for 13th with Pacific. Bryce Emory led NIU with a +10, 226 to finish tied for 31st overall, while Nick Schiavi was tied for 33rd with a +11, 227 performance.

Men's Tennis: The Huskies headed to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Invitational over the weekend. Axel Lagerlof highlighted NIU's weekend by advancing to the A Bracket finals before falling to Drake's Anis Ghorbel 6-2, 6-2. The Swede also won the doubles consolation bracket, teaming up with Max Phillips to go 2-1 in the doubles side.

The Huskies will wrap up September and begin October this week with a host of competitions. Both soccer team's will be in action Friday through Sunday, while the women's golf team hosts the NIU Huskie Classic Sunday and Monday.

Says College Soccer News about the Huskies as they give a "Lightning Round" look at this week's national poll. College Soccer News believes that NIU is "a team that is going to win a lot of games before the season is over." The Huskies are 26th in this week's College Soccer News poll. In other polls, NIU comes in at number 20 by the NSCAA and number 24 according to both Soccer America and Soccer Times.

It was an eventful week in Huskie athletics, as six teams were in action during the past week. The main event, of course, was the Soldier Field Showdown II between NIU and No. 7 Wisconsin, where 41,068 people watched the Huskies and Badgers play inside the historic Chicago stadium.

Football: Keyed by 384 yards of total offense from QB Russell Wilson, Wisconsin defeated Northern Illinois, 49-7, at Soldier Field. The Huskie offense, meanwhile, could only manage 237 yards of total offense against the stout UW defense. During the game, Dr. Kenneth and Ellen Chessick made a $3 million gift to Northern Illinois Athletics that will name the Kenneth and Ellen Chessick Indoor Facility. The gift is the largest ever made to NIU Athletics and the second largest ever made to the university.

Volleyball: Northern Illinois won their second and third straight matches over the weekend, as they returned to Victor E. Court to face UIC and South Florida. On Friday night, the Huskies doused the in-state rival Flames in a 3-0 sweep, as they outhit UIC .371-.103. On Sunday afternoon, NIU moved to 3-0 against Big East teams with a 3-0 win over the USF Bulls. On the season, eight of NIU's 11 wins have come by sweeps.
Men's Soccer: The No. 13 Huskies went down to the wire twice over the weekend at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic, encountering different results both times. On Friday, NIU was shocked in overtime by Xavier, who used an overtime marker to defeat the Huskies, 2-1. Northern got back on track Sunday afternoon, though, as Gael Rivera's overtime goal sent the Huskies home with a 2-1 win over Cal-Davis.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies turned up the defense in two home matches over the weekend at the NIU Soccer Complex. On Tuesday, NIU outshot Eastern Illinois, 24-7, but was unable to reach the back of the net in a 0-0 tie with the Panthers. NIU would redeem themselves for Sunday's Senior Day festivities with a dominating 2-0 shutout of Loyola to earn their first win of the season.

Women's Golf: The Northern Illinois women's golf team teed off on their 2011 fall season with two tournaments in neighboring states. On Monday and Tuesday, the Huskies took fourth place at the Green Bay Invitational in Green Bay, Wis., with Katie Kuhn leading all Huskies with a total of 149. The squad returned to action over the weekend at the Cardinal Classic in Munice, Ind. with an eighth place finish.

Men's Tennis: Northern Illinois began their fall schedule over the weekend in River Forest, Ill., at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational. Leading NIU on the courts were Maksym Bartiuk and Axel Lagerlof, who both emerged from singles competition undefeated.

With the men's golf team currently in action in sunny California, six teams will be in action over the next week, including football hosting Cal Poly Saturday afternoon and women's soccer and volley each hosting a pair of matches in DeKalb.

Just as college football has two different top-25 polls, the college soccer world also has a number of different polls ranking the top teams in the country. After a 5-0 start to the season, the Huskies appear in all four polls released as of Tuesday. In the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Soccer America polls, the Huskies come in at number 13. In other polls, the Huskies check in at 25th according to Soccer Times and 26th in the College Soccer News rankings. 

The Huskies opened the first weekend of the new school year with plenty of action, as the volleyball and women's soccer teams both hosted tournaments, while the men's soccer team traveled to the Gateway City to take on Saint Louis.

Volleyball: The Huskies kicked off their 2011 season with the NIU Invitational, where they compiled a 2-2 record between Friday and Saturday. Northern Illinois opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over IUPUI. On Friday night, NIU posted an impressive 3-0 sweep against Cincinnati - a team that went to the NCAA Tournament last season and received votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. However, the Huskies dropped both of their matches on Saturday, falling to No. 18 Iowa State, 3-1, and No. 14 Northern Iowa, 3-0.

Men's Soccer: The Huskies used a dominant first half and stingy defense to take down the Billikens of Saint Louis, 2-1, in NIU's first regular season match of 2011. Northern Illinois tallied goals in the 36th and 42nd minutes - in addition to out-shooting SLU, 8-1 -  to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the half. Despite numerous chances for Saint Louis, goalkeeper Jordan Godsey and the NIU defense never relinquished the lead.

Women's Soccer: The Huskies dropped both of their matches this weekend, as they hosted South Dakota State, North Dakota and Western Michigan in the NIU Tourney. On Friday, Northern Illinois took on SDSU and fell by a score of 3-0, despite shutting out the Jackrabbits in the second half. NIU returned to the pitch on Sunday, but had similar results, as they were downed by the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota, 2-0.

The 2011-12 year gets even busier this week, as football and cross country open up their respective seasons, while volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer all hit the road for more tournament action. Stay tuned to www.niuhuskies.com for all the latest news on Huskie athletics.

Wednesday night's NIU-Northwestern men's soccer match at Lakeside Field in Evanston has been added to the Huskie All-Access line-up. That means current HAA subscribers can watch the match for no additional charge!

Former NIU men's soccer player Luis De La Cerda  achieved a lifelong dream of playing professional soccer last year, but now he is back on campus to finish complete his degree from NIU. Read all about  his story in today's Norther Star, courtesy of Mike Buda.