DeKALB  —  The men’s soccer team is starting to gain traction as it picked up its second win of the season Friday with a 3-1 victory over Purdue University – Fort Wayne. 

The Huskies were able to shake off a bad start after allowing the Mastodons to score their first goal midway into the first half. Sophomore forward Alex Frank scored with a header five yards out on a play that started from a free kick. Sophomore midfielder Emil Fosse assisted on the play as the header flew high, right past Martin Sanchez, Huskie redshirt first-year goalkeeper.

The Huskies responded 10 minutes later when senior midfielder Christian Molina scored, tying the game at one. Molina’s kick came off an assist from sophomore midfielder Adrian Corona. Molina was one of the many aggressive Huskie attackers, with 4 shots through the night.

Head Coach Ryan Swan said he was proud of Molina’s effort. Swan said, “[Molina] was outstanding; he was the best player on the field today.”

In the second half, the Huskies got to a quick start, scoring within the first two minutes of the half. First-year forward Miguel Maynez Jr. scored off an assist from Molina. This goal put the Huskies up 2-1 

Maynez later got an assist from sophomore forward Nick Markanich on a flick, giving the Huskies a commanding 3-1 lead. Maynez and Markanich each had four shots during the game.

Markanich has now scored in three straight games. Swan said he believes Markanich’s confidence has grown from the beginning of the season to now.

“We continue to put him in good situations [where] we know he could score,” Swan said. “He was our top goal scorer last year.”

The Huskies were able to control the rest of the game after the third goal, keeping Purdue Fort Wayne to 0 shots on goal. 

The Huskies were able to keep the pressure the whole game with 27 shots and 12 shots on goal. Swan said he liked how his team was able to keep the pace and space needed to win this game.

“We spent a lot of time working on our passing and movement off the ball, and you’re starting to see,” Swan said.

The Huskies will take the field again 7 p.m. Tuesday at the NIU Soccer and Track and Field Complex against University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.