BUFFALO GROVE—There were no surprises from the Schwaben Center on Saturday as the NIU soccer team scratched the Wildcats of Nothwestern 2-0 in the Huskies’ “regular season” finale.

Note: The only game left on the Huskies’ schedule is the “waiting game.” NIU now awaits the selections to the 1990 NCAA Soccer Tournament which come today at noon. More about that later…

“It was a typical Northern—Northwestern soccer game,” NIU head coach Willy Roy said.

No matter what the records are coming into the contests, the Huskies always get a good game from the Wildcats. Northwestern relied on defense, as they have all season long.

Coming into the game, the Wildcats had only tallied 11 goals en route to their 2-10-3 record. NIU’s All-America candidate Willy Roy Jr. posted 14 goals by himself to lead the Huskies to their 12-5-2 ledger.

Saturday’s contest was no different. NIU clawed to a scoreless tie with the ‘Cats for 72 minutes of the game. Yet, the Huskies dominated offensively, particularly in the latter half. NIU owned a 25-6 edge in overall shots with a 15-2 advantage in the shots on goal category.

The Huskies finally did some damage with one of those shots on goal as Roy Jr. lifted the eventual game-winner past the ‘Cats goalkeeper, off an assist by Frank Sparacino with 18 minutes left in the contest.

That goal moved the senior into a tie for second in career points with 111 (Ed Kositzki tallied 111 during his 1969-71 tenure). Roy Jr., fourth in the nation in scoring, ended the regular season with 15 goals and 18 assists for a 48-point total. The season-ending totals upped Roy Jr.‘s career marks at NIU to 34 career goals and a school record of 43 career assists.

“I’m happy with the season,” Roy Jr. said. “As for Northwestern, they always play us tough. Winning close games is the sign of a good team.”

NIU proved to be two goals better than Northwestern as goalkeeper Markus Roy nabbed his third point of the season on an assist to Chris Schneider. Roy punted the ball down to the NU side of the field, Schneider scooped the bouncer up and blasted a cross-shot past the ‘Cats goalkeeper with 3:14 left in the game.

“We knew they were a good team,” Northwestern coach Michael Kunert said. “Their forwards were a little more composed and I think the 2-0 score was a just result.”

Back to the waiting game… the Huskies completed the 1990 schedule with a 13-5-2 ledger, a feat that NIU’s boss feels should qualify them for a post-season appearance.

“Considering how much of an upgraded schedule we played, especially with 12 of the 20 matches played away from DeKalb, I believe we’ve had an outstanding season and we do deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Willy Roy said.

All hopes may have been diminished earlier on Saturday though. Usually the selection committee takes the top two teams out of each region, and with some exceptions, three teams. The No. 5 Huskies needed a loss from Illinois State University and Tulsa University, the No. 3 and No. 4 teams in the Midwest Region.

ISU didn’t cooperate. The Redbirds knocked off Southern Methodist University 3-2 at Normal. SMU previously held the No. 2 slot in the Midwest behind Saint Louis University. With the victory, ISU put themselves in good position and may have put the No. 5 Huskies in a bad one.