Men’s soccer (7-6-1, 1-2-1 MAC) will battle against West Virginia (6-11, 1-3 MAC) in its regular season finale Friday.

The Huskies lost their last game 1-0 to Western Michigan on Saturday. The Mountaineers played Tuesday in a double overtime loss to Penn State.

NIU head coach Eric Luzzi said Tuesday was a good day of training and the team is in a good place.

WVU ranks fourth in shots and goals this season. Senior midfielder/forward Ryan Cain and senior midfielder Jamie Merriam are tied for sixth in the MAC in goals. Junior goalkeeper Daniel Diaz ranks ninth in goals against average and eighth in saves and saves percentage.

The Huskies have struggled to score this season. The team is sixth in the conference in shots, goals and goals per game. They also have not given up many goals. They rank third in the MAC in goals allowed and goals against average.

“To be honest, [the Mountaineers have] given up a lot of goals,” Luzzi said. “I feel relatively confident that we’re going to score a goal or two. On the flip side, they’re very good on the attack so it’s really just a matter of us doing our job to make sure they don’t score.”

Luzzi said he originally thought WVU’s double overtime loss Tuesday would give the Huskies an advantage on Friday, but since WVU “only played their starters for 20 minutes, it’ll negate any fatigue factor that midweek games sometimes gives to them.”

Both teams will play for a potential berth in the MAC Tournament. The Huskies currently rank fourth in the MAC and have won just one game in their last six. The MAC Tournament semi-finals begin Nov. 13.