Men's soccer announces schedule
Will see former coach Steve Simmons on Sept. 25
The 2009 Northern Illinois men's soccer schedule was released today and there are definitely a few games of note.
The Huskies will play six teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and new coach Eric Luzzi will see a familiar face when NIU plays Oregon State and former coach Steve Simmons on Sept. 25 at Oregon State.
“It’s a wonderfully exciting schedule, it’s going to be exciting for the team,” Luzzi said in a news release. “With that comes a high degree of responsibility for the guys to be as prepared as possible far when we get together on (reporting day) August 14th.”
The Huskies will welcome No. 9 Northwestern on Oct. 7, and host No. 12 Tulsa on Sept. 11, as part of the NIU adidas/Magnuson Inn and Suites Invitational. Northern Illinois will also square-off with NCAA tournament participant Oakland at the NIU Invite on Sept. 13.
Northern Illinois is set to face another pair of NCAA qualifiers at the North Carolina Nike Invitational. The Huskies play the No. 4 Tar Heels, who lost in the national championship game last season, Sept. 4, and two days later battle UNC-Greensboro. The Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 of the tournament last year, with wins over Duke and Loyola (Md.).
The Huskies round out their tour of the top 15 with a trip to No. 6 Akron, Oct. 17. The teams last met in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship, with the Zips edging the Huskies in double-overtime.
After playing host to No. 16 Notre Dame (Aug. 20) and DePaul (Aug. 26) in exhibition contests, the Huskies officially open to 2009 season against Bradley on Sept. 1 in DeKalb. Last time they met, the teams played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in a contest that featured four yellow cards and one red card.
The Huskies’ MAC card features home matches against Buffalo (Oct. 11), and Western Michigan (Nov. 4), as well as road trips to Hartwick (Oct. 3), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 25) and Bowling Green (Oct. 31).
The Huskies return nine starters in 2009, including All-MAC selections Ben Thomas and Brad Horton.
