DeKALB — Heading into its home opener against Western Illinois on Thursday evening, NIU men’s soccer head coach Ryan Swan had a message to the team: Play aggressive.
“One of the messages that we had up on the board was to come out fast, you know, be aggressive from the beginning,” Swan said. “I was really happy with the response.”
After defeating the Leathernecks (1-2) by a score of 5-0, the Huskies (2-0-1) delivered on their coach’s wishes.
With the win, NIU — who finished 3-12-1 last season — is now one win short of eclipsing their 2024 total.
The Huskies put on an offensive masterclass behind a balanced attack with four Huskies reaching the back of the net. Furthermore, the Huskies accumulated 20 shots — 10 on goal — compared to the Leathernecks’ five.
The scorers were headlined by sophomore forward Katai Makuka, who scored his first two goals of the season within two minutes of each other.
“I feel like I’m strengthening my bond with everybody, so going into this game, I was more comfortable,” Makuka said. “I think I did pretty good today.”
Entering the game as a substitute at the end of the first half, Makuka is now NIU’s leading goal scorer this season.
Firing on all cylinders, the Huskies’ offense was too much for the Leathernecks.
FIRST HALF
NIU jumped ahead promptly, drawing first blood less than six minutes in thanks to the foot of senior midfielder Jose Gomez, who logged his first goal of the season on a free kick.
The Huskies’ dominance continued as NIU relentlessly created scoring attempts before reaching the back of the net a second time in the 21st minute.
Sophomore midfielder Martin Montoya netted the goal, accounting for his first goal of the season. Montoya’s goal extended NIU’s lead to 2-0 off an assist by freshman forward Nico Angulo.
“I saw Nico (Angulo) was cutting in, and I know he usually likes to cross or shoot,” Montoya said. “I was just following in right behind the defender, staying onside, and then the ball just fell to me and I just, I had to put it away.”
Makuka extended NIU’s scoring spree, giving the Huskies a 4-0 lead in the 40th minute thanks to his pair of goals.
SECOND HALF
Coming out of the first half, the game slowed down, with neither side scoring throughout the first 29 minutes.
Western Illinois proceeded to regain some momentum offensively, picking up 5 second-half shot attempts — compared to zero in the first half.
Despite the short-lived momentum, senior forward Taylor Davis crushed the Leathernecks’ spirits.
Drilling a goal into the upper right-hand corner, Davis made WIU’s goalie miss while giving NIU the lead on a penalty kick in the 74th minute and cementing the blowout victory.
UP NEXT
Picking up their second consecutive win, the Huskies now face the No. 19-ranked University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos on the road.
“We have to start prepping for UMKC right now,” Swan said. “We know UMKC have got a good team. (They) went on a pretty good run in the national tournament last year and returned a lot of players, but I think the guys are confident right now.”
The Huskies will take on the Kangaroos at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in Kansas City, Missouri. Streaming will be provided by Midco Sports with live stats provided by SIDEARM Sports.
