Two losses in a row can cause a team to doubt itself. However, when the team has a coach like NIU’s Willy Roy the pessimism will not be around too long.

The Huskies are coming off of two defeats in the last week and will have the chance to prevent a losing streak by defeating the Blue Demons of DePaul Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Chicago.

The soccer team’s overall record stands at a less than desirable 3-5-0, with a Big Central Soccer Conference record of 0-4-0 after Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Coach Roy said he believes his team played well against the Panthers despite the loss.

“In Milwaukee we played a good game,” Roy said. “They’re a good team, they have a good program, and you can lose to teams like that.

“The only bad bummer that we had was really the first 20 minutes of the Marquette game, which really hurt us. We have to get ourselves in a good frame of mind and just come back and do what we’re capable of doing.”

The Blue Demons do not appear to be a major threat at 2-5-1, but there is a cause for concern.

DePaul possesses the eighth-ranked goalie in the Midwest. Rich Horwath displays a 1.43 goals against average, which is slightly better than Huskie goalkeeper Markus Roy. Markus has a 1.50 GAA and is ranked No. 9 in the Midwest.

In scoring production, Willy Roy Jr. remains on top of NIU statistics with four goals and three assists for a total of 11 points. Freshman John Lechner is next in line with four goals and one assist for nine points. Roy and Lechner are rated ninth and 12th in the Midwest, respectively.

The offensive leader for DePaul is Jason Cohen, who is ranked 14th in the Midwest with four goals (eight points). The other threat the Blue Demons present is a strong midfield led by Frank Palumbo.

Coach Roy said he does not plan to look ahead of DePaul.

“DePaul is a young program,” Roy said. “They have improved drastically, and you can’t underestimate them. Under normal circumstances we should win.”

DePaul is also coming off a defeat after last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Dayton, so both the Huskies and the Blue Demons are thirsty for a win.

SportsVision will be taping the NIU-DePaul game. The tape-delay cablecast will air tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. with Mike Leiderman and former NIU All-American goalie Pete Mannos announcing the match.

The Huskies will return home this weekend for the Illinois Governor’s Cup.