DeKALB – In a must win game for the NIU men’s soccer team (6-8-1, 3-4-1 MVC), goals from sophomore midfielder Angel Rodriguez and junior forward Taisei Arima led the Huskies to a victory over the Bowling Green State University Falcons (7-7-3, 4-4 MVC).
The Huskies ended the regular season fifth in the MVC standings and earned a berth to the championship tournament.
In the 41st minute, Rodriguez scored to put the Huskies ahead. In the 72nd minute, an own goal slipped past senior goalkeeper Jakub Rojek to even the score. With only four minutes remaining in the match, Arima found the back of the net to secure the win for the Huskies.
Arima explained his mentality when coming into a tied game.
“We still had time, so we didn’t rush to the goal,” Arima said. “We knew that we had to win. It’s kind of weird, but we just calmed down and then played the way we needed to. We played pretty much the same as last game, but I think that this game was important to us. Everyone brought their energy to the field, and that was the most important thing for us.”
NIU was outshot 9-17 by the Falcons and created 4 shots on goal.
Rojek was the backbone of the Huskie defense. He faced 9 shots on goal from the Falcons, and recorded 9 saves. The only ball that made it into the net was an own goal by NIU.
Rojek elaborated on the mindset and team confidence after the own goal.
“It’s part of the game, accidents like that.” Rojek said. “Especially when that (an own goal) happens and there’s so much pressure, a guy can put his head down, and it can affect his game. The important thing was to tell him that it’s alright and that there was a lot of time left to win the game.”
NIU men’s soccer head coach Ryan Swan praised Rojek’s performance in goal.
“He’s been fantastic for us this season,” Swan said. “We were talking before the game about that we were looking for somebody to win the game for us. It’s rare that it’s the goalkeeper who gets to win the game cause you obviously need to score goals to win. At 1-0 and 1-1, he’s come up with some huge stops and has just been tremendous for us all season.”
Swan is already looking toward the next game for the Huskies as they advance to the MVC championship tournament.
“It’s going to be interesting cause we play these guys (Bowling Green State) again on Sunday,” Swan said. “So, we’ll travel down to them. There were parts of our play that I thought were sloppy and a little rushed – a little panicked. I think the guys understood the magnitude of the game. Hopefully we can keep the intensity high but are a little more relaxed when we have the ball and can manage the game better.”
The No. 5 seed Huskies will take on the No. 4 seed Bowling Green State University at 6 p.m. Sunday at Cochrane Soccer Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on SideArm Stats.
