Nov. 11, 2008

MAC Tournament Bracket in PDF Format

MAC Tournament Central

DeKALB - The Northern Illinois men's soccer team opens play at the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Thursday at 10 a.m. (CST), facing Bowling Green at Lee Jackson Field in Akron, Ohio.

The Huskies, who earned the second seed in the tournament with a 4-1-1 record in league play (9-5-4 overall), will face the Falcons, the seventh seed. Northern Illinois is 3-4 in MAC Tournament play under sixth-year head coach Steve Simmons. That mark includes a 2-0 record in 2006, when the Huskies won the MAC Championship, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

This year's squad features 10 players who were on that championship team, including goalkeeper Joe Zimka (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs), who set an NCAA record for goals allowed average that year, and Drew Jeskey (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) who started in all but one match in 2006.

Bowling Green enters the match with a 4-12-2 overall record, but is winless against MAC opponents. The Falcons rank fifth in the conference with 18 goals, and have allowed nearly two per game. Midfielder Chuko Evwaraye leads the BGSU attack with five goals, tied for sixth-most in the MAC.

"They've got some guys in front that are strong, that are athletic," Simmons said. "I think they like to take chances, so when they're taking chances and you let them, you run the risk of those chances converting into something special."

In goal, the Falcons have alternated between seniors Paul Shoemaker and Brent Petkus over the last several matches. Shoemaker has made the majority of starts with 14, and he faced the Huskies when the teams met, Oct. 25.

"Shoemaker is a senior, so there is some leadership back there; he's been in the rodeo before," Simmons said.

In their last match, freshman Brad Horton (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) scored the winning goal in the 62nd minute, with an assist from Zimka. The score was the lone goal in a match that was statistically even.

"We know that the last time we played them it was just a one-nil game, which means it was too close," Simmons said. "Any team, in any conference tournament, is good enough to get a result."

Their win over BGSU was the second of three consecutive conference victories for the Huskies, who are unbeaten against MAC opponents since Oct. 4.

Horton leads NIU and is tied for third in the MAC with six goals, four of which have been game-winners. He is one of 13 Huskies and five freshmen to have found the golden touch this season. Other scoring leaders for NIU include junior Ben Thomas (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) with four, and Jeskey, who has struck true three times.

If the Huskies win Thursday, they will face the winner of the match-up between the No. 3 seed, Buffalo, and sixth-seeded Florida Atlantic, Friday at 5 p.m. A victory in that match would put NIU in the MAC Championship, set for 2 p.m., Sunday.

But while the team is physically preparing for a grueling tournament, Simmons said the Huskies are focused on just one thing.

"As far as we're concerned, it's just Thursday," he said. "It's Bowling Green and that's it."