October is winding down and the same goes for the NIU women’s soccer season.

NIU wraps up its regular season home schedule with matches against Miami (4-10-1 overall, 3-5-0 MAC) and Ball State (8-7-1, 4-3-1) this weekend.

The Huskies (8-3-5, 4-2-2) square off with Miami at 3 p.m. today and face BSU at 1 p.m. Sunday. NIU will honor Jenna Clausen, Erin Fahey, Jestina Orlando and Thea Johnson for Senior Day Sunday afternoon.

As conference play starts to heat up, the Huskies look to continue their pace and finish up the season strong.

“Every game this year has been a huge game, and we don’t expect anything different from any other weekend,” said NIU head coach Carrie Barker. “We started well this season, and we have to finish well.”

NIU is unbeaten in its last five matches and looks to extend that streak today against the RedHawks. The Huskies will try to contain Miami’s Sara Lund who has seven goals and three assists this year.

BSU boasts a strong forward in Emily Rein. The senior leads the team with four goals and six assists.

However, it should not be a problem for NIU’s defense as the unit ranks third in the MAC with a .75 goals against average behind goalkeeper Lindsey Curnock’s .835 save percentage and eight shutouts.

Sophomore Becca Ford, along with Johnson, continue to lead NIU’s offense with four goals each. However, it remains a team effort as 11 different Huskies have found the back of the net this season.

Senior Day marks the end of the season as well as the end of four Huskie careers in 2008.
“It has gone by fast, and I’m so excited to finsh the year off with the other three seniors as well as the rest of this group,” Fahey said. “There’s no other group I’d rather be with this weekend.”

But there is still soccer left to play, and NIU continues to take it one game at a time.

“We’re definitely where we want to be because we’re improving with each game,” Barker said. “We’ve faced different situations throughout the season, and there’s no doubt in my mind that our team is not ready for this weekend.”

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