Football | September 12
DEKALB, Ill. – The NIU women’s soccer team hosts DePaul on Thursday while the Huskie men’s soccer team plays its first Missouri Valley Conference match at home on Saturday against Missouri State, this week in Huskie Athletics. The NIU football team will travel to Nebraska on Saturday while the Huskie men’s tennis team begins its season at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational.
Football
Saturday, September 16: at Nebraska, 6 p.m. – FS1 | Listen Live | Live Stats
The NIU Football team heads to Lincoln, Neb. Saturday night in search of its second “Boneyard” win of the season as the Huskies take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskies had the ball for nearly 36 minutes last Saturday and held SIU to 217 yards of total offense but fell 14-11 to the Salukis in the home opener. Senior wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz had a career-high 139 receiving yards and a touchdown, tying a career-high with six receptions. The Huskie defense recorded five sacks in the game with George Gumbs leading the way with 1.5. NIU last faced a Big Ten team in 2021 when the Huskies took on Michigan. A full preview will be available on NIUHuskies.com later this week.
Volleyball
Friday, September 15: vs. Dayton (in Cedar Falls, Iowa), 11 a.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Friday, September 15: vs. North Dakota (in Cedar Falls, Iowa), 5 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, September 16: at Northern Iowa, 2 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
The final weekend of non-conference play awaits the NIU Volleyball team this weekend as it travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the UNI Tournament. The Huskies will play a pair of matches on Friday as they face Dayton at 11 a.m. and North Dakota at 5 p.m., before finishing the tournament against host Northern Iowa on Saturday at 2 p.m. Emily Dykes was named to the All-Tournament Team this past weekend at the DePaul Invitational after averaging a team-best 3.25 kills per set, hitting .349.
Men’s Soccer
Tuesday, September 12: at Milwaukee, 7 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, September 16: vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
A trophy game and the conference opener are on tap for the NIU men’s soccer team this week. On Tuesday, the Huskies will travel to Milwaukee for their annual contest against the Panthers with the Lewang Cup on the line. Named in honor of former Milwaukee assistant and NIU head coach John Lewang, the Huskies and Panthers meet annually for the Lewang Cup. Lewang came to NIU as head coach in 1980 following his time as an assistant at Milwaukee and died in a car accident after his first season leading the Huskies. Since 1981, the two teams have played for a trophy named in his honor.
Then on Saturday, the Huskies will play their first Missouri Valley Conference game as they welcome Missouri State to DeKalb. The Bears have won four-straight MVC regular season titles and three consecutive MVC Tournament crowns. Camilo Estrada has scored three goals in the last two games for the Huskies and is tied for the team lead in goals with Eddie Knight.
Women’s Soccer
Thursday, September 14: vs. DePaul, 7 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats
The Huskie’s women’s soccer team returns home on Thursday, September 15 to take on the DePaul Blue Demons. NIU is 2-2-2 so far in 2023 and is coming off a tie against Southern Indiana on the road. NIU trailed late in the match but earned a late penalty kick, which was converted by Sahara Zingano, to claim a 1-1 draw. Isabel Struble leads the Huskies with two goals, Lea Gruennagel, Amber Best, Tyra King and Sarah Roy have also found the net in 2023. Goalkeeper Sadie McGill has allowed just four goals in six matches.
Cross Country
Friday, September 15: at Mel Brodt Collegiate Open (Bowling Green, Ohio), 6:05 p.m.
The NIU cross country team makes its first of two trips to Bowling Green, Ohio this weekend as the Huskies compete in the Mel Brodt Collegiate Open on the Mel Brodt Cross Country Course. The meet will serve as a preview for the MAC Championships, which will be run on the same course in October. In its opening race of the season, Julia Finegan led the way for the Huskies with a ninth-place finish at the Western Illinois Invitational. Emma Planck finished 10th, Katelyn Robbins was 11th and Joy Jackson was 15th as the Huskies tied with host Western Illinois for second place in the event.
Women’s Golf
Sunday-Monday, September 17-18: at Mary Fossum Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
The NIU women’s golf team competes for the second time in as many weeks when they head to Michigan for the Mary Fossum Invitational, hosted by Michigan State at Forest Akers West Golf Club in Lansing. The 54-hole event will include two rounds on Sunday and one on Monday. The Huskies placed fifth of 16 teams at the season opening Redbird Invitational in Normal, Illinois (Sept. 10-11) with a season low team round of two-under par 286 on Sunday.
Two-time All-MAC senior Jasmine Ly paced the Huskies at the Redbird as she tied for third with rounds of 73-70-72 for a 54-hole total of one-under par 215. Fellow senior Emily Romancew tied for 16th with a 70-74 finish to the event while graduate student Sydney Naro tied for 25th. All five of the Huskies in the line-up had at least one score of 73 or lower during the tournament with Ly, Romancew and Naro each recording a season low of two-under 70 while Caroline Kent and Johanna Ludviksdottir carded 73s during the tournament. Ly, Romancew, Naro and Kent will all make the trip to Michigan with the final spot in the line-up to be decided this week.
Men’s Golf
Monday-Tuesday, September 18-19: at VCU Shootout (Richmond, Va.)
The NIU men’s golf team heads to Richmond, Va. for the VCU Shootout at the Country Club of Virginia next Monday and Tuesday. The Huskies opened their fall slate last week, tying for 10th place at the Gopher Invitational. Junior Ben Sluzas tied for 11th place individually with a 54-hole score of one-under par 212, posting a 69 in the final round. Felix Krammer also finished in the top-20 in his NIU debut, tying for 18th at one-over par.
Men’s Tennis
Friday-Saturday, September 15-16: at River Forest Collegiate Invitational (River Forest, Ill.)
Huskie men’s tennis opens the season at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational on Friday and Saturday at River Forest Tennis Club and Oak Park Tennis Center. The clay court event, which is in its 13th year, has become the traditional season opening tournament for the Huskies. NIU earned two flight victories at last season’s event as Iker Gaztambide Arrastia won the flight four singles crown while Oliver Valentinsson and Armin Koschtojan paired to take the flight two doubles title.
