With a big match coming up this weekend, there’s always the possibility of a team looking ahead to another one.

The NIU men’s soccer squad has a key MAC matchup Saturday with Buffalo, one that could go a long way toward deciding the regular season conference champion and host of the conference tournament.

On Wednesday the Huskies (4-5-4) host a non-conference match, but against No. 11 Northwestern, a team who NIU lost to a year ago.

So is there a slight possibility that the Huskies could overlook its upcoming conference match with the Bulls in anticipation of its showdown with the Wildcats?

“Not at all. Definitely not,” junior midfielder Steve Kolzow said. “It hasn’t even come up. We’re all ready for Buffalo.”

This match, scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., could be vital in deciding the MAC champion because Buffalo is currently in the lead with a 2-0-0 record. NIU is right behind at 1-0-1.

“I think a win would definitely put us in a good position,” Kolzow said. “Especially with a tie against Akron. It would put us in a good position. A win would give us high hopes going into Northwestern on Wednesday and Hartwick next Saturday.”

Buffalo has been a pain in the Huskies’ neck for a few years now. The two teams have played each other twice in each of the last three years. In 2004 and 2005, NIU beat Buffalo in MAC play but lost to the Bulls in the MAC Tournament.

Last year, the Bulls won the regular season match, only to fall to the Huskies in the postseason, a match that the Huskies remember as very heated and intense.

“Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve always been like an Achilles heel to us,” Kolzow said. “First round of the MAC [tournament] two years in a row they knocked us out. Last year we finally got over that.”

The Huskies can’t worry about anything other than the task at hand, which is defeating the Bulls, because at this point in the season, with only five matches left in the regular season, every match is important.

“It’s a conference game, which is another [important] reason,” coach Steve Simmons said. “Toward the end of the season, that will play into how our form is. And as usual, with Buffalo, there’s usually a lot on the line. There’s a lot on the line here, and we’re happy we can do it at home.”

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