Good teams bounce back from tough losses.

That is exactly what the NIU soccer team did on Sunday in shutting out the defending Big Central Soccer Conference champ Quincy College by a score of 3-0 at the Huskie Soccer Field.

The Huskies started out slow and failed to score in the first half, but the spectacular play of goalie Markus Roy kept NIU in the game. Roy had five saves in the first half and three in the second to record his third shutout of the season.

“He (Markus) played extremely well,” Huskie head coach Willy Roy said. “That’s what makes him a premiere goalie in the nation, if not the premiere.”

Roy was a little concerned before the game about how his team would respond to the Hawks after the 1-0 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers last Wednesday.

“I felt after the Indiana game we would have letdown,” Roy said. “We weren’t agressive enough mentally in the first half, but we put it together in the second.”

The Huskies struck early and often in that second half.

At the 54:32 mark, senior tri-captain Jim Corno scored on an assist by Willy Roy, Jr. Coach Roy was pleased with Corno’s performance.

“I’m glad to see Jimmy get his first goal,” Roy said. “Maybe he’ll loosen up now and contribute more.”

It didn’t take the Huskies but two more minutes to strike again. This time it was sophomore forward Mark Siegwald with the assist going to Frank Sparacino.

NIU put the icing on the cake with their final tally at 58:10 on an unassisted goal by Sparacino.

The conference win puts the Huskies at 2-0-0 in the BCSC and 4-1-1 overall. The Hawks dropped to 1-2-0 in the BCSC and the loss snapped a three-game win streak for Quincy, who defeated Northwestern on Saturday 1-0 in Evanston.

Hawk boss Jack Mackenzie felt his team was a little tired from the back-to-back games.

“It’s tough to play two days in a row in this heat,” Mackenzie said. “I do think they (NIU) have a good young team and a fine facility which is a credit to the university. I’m looking forward to coming back and playing in the tournament.”

Roy, now in his third year as coach of the NIU program, felt his team was playing with the same disadvantages as the Hawks.

“We’re coming back from a four-game road trip against some tough clubs too,” Roy said. “Our team has responded well and I’m proud of our entire team.”

The Huskie soccer team welcomes the Redbirds of Illinois State to DeKalb on Wednesday (Sept. 20) for a 5 p.m. game at Huskie Soccer Field. NIU’s record against ISU stands at 2-4-2.