It’s hard to be upset about the result the NIU men’s soccer team received Saturday night, even though technically there wasn’t a result of its match with No. 18 Akron.

Saturday’s match with the Zips ended in a 0-0 tie, to the dismay of the Huskies, who were looking to pull out a win.

“We wanted to get something out of the weekend,” coach Steve Simmons. “We know Akron is a very good team. It was a gritty performance. For us to compete the way we did, we deserved something.”

The Huskies were outshot 20-4, by the Zips, but stayed in the game thanks to Joe Zimka. Zimka, making his first start since injuring his quadricep, made eight saves between the pipes.

“Joe had a good night in goal,” Simmons said. “They had the lion’s share of the chances.”

The defense also played well for the Huskies, something that was mandatory against Akron.

“We played pretty solid defensively,” Simmons said. “All in all, I thought we did what we wanted to do. It was a hard fought match either way.”

The Huskies (4-5-4, 1-0-1 MAC) set a school record with their fourth tie of the season, and are now unbeaten in their last eight MAC matches. They continue with their MAC schedule next Saturday, hosting Buffalo.

“There’s a lot of lessons that we took from beginning part of the season that were learned,” Simmons said. “We’re learning from them now.”

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