Sept. 26, 2008

Box Score

Box Score in PDF Format

DeKALB - Drew Jeskey missed the last five games of the Northern Illinois men's soccer team's season with injury.

The senior made up for lost time by scoring two goals in the No. 24 Huskies' conference-opening win over Florida Atlantic, Friday.

"He's knocking the rust off," sixth-year coach Steve Simmons said. "There were some things that weren't quite as sharp as his standards are, but having said that, he was able to score two goals, and he's only going to get better."

Northern Illinois defeated the Owls 4-2 at the new NIU Soccer/Track and Field Complex to start Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies moved to 6-1-2 on the year, and won their sixth consecutive MAC opener.

The Huskies went down early, as FAU's Evan Kluge found the net just five minutes into the match.

"It was a wake-up call, a little shot across the bow," Simmons said. "We're fortunate that we didn't get burned by it."

Jeskey (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) answered in the 15th minute, using a header to score off a corner kick by Engebreth Faerden (Olso, Norway/Academy for Elite Athletes). Despite a 15-3 advantage in shots that included six attempts on goal, the Huskies entered halftime tied, 1-1, with the Owls.

Northern Illinois put Florida Atlantic on its heels to start the second, as Jeskey scored his second goal just 59 seconds into the period. Like his first, he used a header toward the far post to score following a corner from Luis De La Cerda (Guadalajara, Mexico/Waubonsie Valley).

But the Owls fought back to tie the match. FAU's Gianni Piccoletti scored in the 69th minute off a misplayed pass by NIU keeper Joe Zimka (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs). The score didn't stay tied long, as Josh Karsten (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) scored in the 76th to put the Huskies up, 3-2, after FAU keeper Phillip Lamarre deflected a free kick by Luis Mojica (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East).

NIU added an insurance goal with less than two minutes remaining to push the score to 4-2. Faerden, a sophomore, earned space at the top of the box and laced a shot that bent into the upper-right corner of the goal for his first score as a Huskie.

Northern Illinois won 11 corner kicks to Florida Atlantic's one, and outshot the Owls 35-8. Jeskey and Faerden became the 10th and 11th Huskies to score this season, and Jeskey's dual scores made him the fifth NIU player with multiple goals.

The Huskies continue their MAC season when they face No. 9 Akron, Saturday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m.

"Akron is everything that their ranking is," Simmons said. "We'll have to be at our best, for sure."