The men’s soccer team won a nailbiter at home Wednesday against the Western Illinois University Leathernecks 1-0.

The Huskies scored the only goal of the game in minute 13 with a header from freshman defender Diego Sanz. NIU has scored the opening goal of the game in all six matches its played.

“It felt really good,” Sanz said. “It was my first goal in three years and I wanted it. I wanted the win just as much. I’m so happy about it.”

Head Coach Ryan Swan said he’s always happy to get the first goal of the game.

“It’s tough to score goals,” Swan said. “Getting the first one settles the nerves and let’s us dictate the play. It’s nice that the goals have been coming; they’ve been coming early as well.”

The Huskies limited the Leathernecks to four shots, none of which were on goal.

“We wanted to stop the goals against [us],” Swan said. “We’ve done that today. They had very few chances. We did a lot of good things, but I’m sure when we look back over the video [we’ll find] there’s a lot to work on as well.”

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Konrad Dziedzic recorded his third shutout of the season despite not recording a save.

“We are strong defensively,” Sanz said. “We sometimes give [up] iffy goals, but if we can stay strong defensively we will win a lot of matches.”

The Huskies were able to keep strong possession of the ball. They put up 13 shots, five of which were on goal.

“As a team, if we don’t win the first ball, if it comes down to a one-on-one battle we need to win it,” redshirt freshman midfielder Lawrence Kwazema said. “That’s something we work on in practice and it obviously showed up in the game. The midfield is compact, making it very difficult for the other team to penetrate.”

The Huskies look to sweep the homestand 7 p.m. Tuesday at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex as they take on the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames.

“We’re looking at the UIC game,” Kwazema said. “I think we’re going to win it.”