Wednesday’s 1-1 tie with the Indiana Hoosiers has left the NIU soccer team with thoughts of “what if?”

What if Huskie Soccer Field had lights and the game would have been able to continue?

What if IU soccer coach Jerry Yeagley wasn’t in such a hurry to get out of DeKalb with the tie?

What if NIU wouldn’t have given up the “own goal” to let the Hoosiers knot the contest in the first place?

What if NIU had the “blue chippers” and the extra scholarship help that Head Coach Willy Roy feels is necessary to contend with Top-20 teams?

A day after the “disappointing” deadlock with the Hoosiers, Roy and the Huskies were back out battling the frigid temperatures and the memories of the contest.

The fourth year coach viewed the tapes of the game and has let the aftermath of the showdown settle a little bit better.

“In retrospect, other than that one little lapse,” Roy said, “there were a lot of positive things that came from the match. There was a great crowd (2,051 people) and it was a good game.”

With the tie, the Huskies (9-4-2) did stall the Indiana winning streak at 11 staight games.

One of the main concerns of the Huskies going into the IU contest was NCAA bid implications. A win would have gained NIU some of the national recognition Roy feels they deserve. Especially after being snubbed by the NCAA committee last season when the Huskies finished with a 14-4-2 ledger and the Big Central Soccer Conference championship crown.

“We just have to play the rest of the games the way we know how,” Roy said. “First we have to worry about the Mid-Continent Conference. That is one of my goals though—to not only make the NCAA’s but to win it also.”

With five remaining games, the Huskies still have a good chance to make an impression of the committee. One of those games is next Friday (Oct. 26) at St.Louis University, one of the Midwest’s perennial soccer powerhouses.

First, NIU has to concentrate on former Mid-Continent member Southwest Missouri State University, who visits DeKalb this Sunday for a 1 p.m. game. Fear of a letdown isn’t even on Roy’s mind.

“I don’t think so,” Roy said. “We know we have to work and improve a little more. We have the capabilities.”