With only one regular season game left and no chance at a winning season, one might expect the NIU soccer team to give up hope. Well, that is not the case.

On Sunday, coach Willy Roy and his Huskies look to square up against an improving Illinois State at 2 p.m. down in Normal.

“ISU has just received votes for Top 20 recogniton in the nation, and I feel that is a motivating factor for our team,” coach Roy said. “A win over ISU would send us into the post-season on a high note,” coach Roy said.

NIU is no stranger to beating Top 20 teams. In the Illinois Governor’s Cup held here in DeKalb, the Huskies beat Southern Illinois-Edwardsville by a score of 2-0. At the time, the Cougars were ranked No. 15 in the nation and were favored to win the tournament.

Coach Roy is worried about some of the bumps and bruises on some of his players, but said he expects the likes of John Lechner, Preben Halle and Tim O’Keefe to be ready for the ISU game.

The team is recovering from some psychological bruises of its own after two consecutive shutouts. The first was against Cincinnati last Saturday, while the other came Wednesday night as Wisconsin beat NIU 3-0. However, the consensus among a majority of Huskie soccer players is to face Cincinnati in the first post-season game and give the Bearcats a little of what Wisconsin dished out.

Coach Roy would like to take it to Cincinnati himself, but the ever cognizant Huskie coach remains cautious.

“We can’t look too far past the ISU game. I know my players want to face Cincinnati, but first things are first,” Roy said.

Last season the Huskies battled the Redbirds to a 1-1 tie here in DeKalb, which kept the series in ISU’s favor at 3-2-2, but now NIU will face an even tougher ISU team.

The ISU offensive attack is led by Alex Umanski who prides himself on 24 points coming on eight goals and eight assists, while the defense is led by goalkeeper Allen Adams who carries an impressive 0.93 goals against average.

Coach Tim Carter and his Redbirds have a 10-5 record and are coming off a 4-0 shutout over Western Illinois. The ‘Birds are ranked third in the Midwest heading into the game with the Huskies.

Willy Roy Jr. leads all NIU scorers with 16 points—five goals and six assists, while John Lechner and Karsten Roy follow with 15 and nine points, respectively.

Markus Roy will return to the goal on Sunday after getting some time off. Markus did, however, see some playing time as a midfielder against Wisconsin while Jeff Tweedel defended the net.

After the ISU game, the Huskies will have four days off before heading down south for the Big Central Soccer Conference Tournament which is being held in Edwardsville, Ill.,—home of the Southern Illinois Cougars. The Huskies are scheduled to play Cincinnati in the first conference game.