DeKALB – No offensive goals were needed for a win Sunday, as a defensive showcase and an own goal gave NIU men’s soccer (5-7-1, 2-3-1 MVC) a victory over Belmont University (8-5-2, 3-3 MVC).

NIU was outshot 22-9 on the day with no Huskie players tallying a score. A costly error by Belmont made the difference in a 1-0 win.

The Huskies put together a strong defensive performance against the fourth-highest scoring team in the conference, not allowing any goals. 

Senior goalkeeper Jakub Rojek led the defensive effort with 7 saves. Rojek dove, slid and leaped his way all over the net in a dominant performance to maintain NIU’s fourth shutout win of the season.

NIU men’s soccer coach Ryan Swan praised his goalkeeper after the game.

“Rojek was outstanding,” Swan said. “He had two or three really top end saves there. I think we made it difficult at times. There were a couple times we coughed the ball up in really bad areas. So, I thought he was outstanding.”

The game got chippy in the second half. A few aggressive slide tackles, a pair of yellow cards and lots of yelling from the Belmont bench raised tensions throughout the final 45 minutes of play.

Rojek spoke about the second half tension.

“I think as the game got to, like, 20 minutes, it got a lot more scrappy,” Rojek said. “A lot of emotions got out. A lot of guys were more focused in those moments. So I think, if anything, it helped a little to get the tackles and get the clearances.”

NIU remains in sixth place in the MVC and on the edge of tournament contention. It looks to finish the season with a .500 record with two games remaining. 

NIU will head to Chicago for its next game at 7 p.m. Friday at Flames Field against the University of Illinois Chicago. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available through Stat Broadcast.