Home-field advantage in the MAC Tournament is on the line this afternoon for NIU women’s soccer.

The Huskies have a chance to host the first round of the MAC tournament this Sunday, but two things must happen first.

NIU (9-4-5 overall, 5-3-2 MAC) must win today’s 2 p.m. matchup at Western Michigan (6-10-1, 5-4-1), and fourth place Bowling Green has to fall to top-seeded Toledo. The Huskies are currently in fifth place in the MAC, and the top four seeds in the conference host the opening round.

But NIU is focused only on what it can control.

“Right now, we’re just worried about getting the win,” said junior midfielder Kelly Mullaney. “Once we get the win, we can see how everything else plays out.”

As most sporting situations go, the whole season boils down to the final game. The Huskies look to condense everything they worked on throughout the season and use it this afternoon.

“Our game plan is to put everything together,” said NIU head coach Carrie Barker. “It’s going to be a battle and it’s going to be a very physical and tough environment to compete in.”

The first obstacle the Huskies must overcome is road conditions. NIU is 2-2-4 overall on the road and 1-1-2 in the MAC.

WMU’s Kelsey Carmichael poses as another obstacle. The sophomore has four goals and one assist on the year.

Thea Johnson continues to lead the Huskie offense with five goals on the season. The senior hit the game winner in Sunday’s victory over Ball State, her fourth game winner on the season.

While NIU’s main focus is today’s match, it is hard to overlook the fact that a win can possibly mean home-field advantage for the Huskies.

“I told these players, that we can’t worry about Sunday’s game,” Barker said. “We have to take care of business, getting three points on the road, and then we’ll worry about what the other factors are. But we can’t host if we don’t win.”

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