Women’s soccer requires a win and needs to keep its fingers crossed for a chance at hosting a playoff game.

The Huskies (6-9-3, 4-3-3 MAC) will take on the Western Michigan Broncos (10-7-1, 4-5-1 MAC) 3 p.m. Thursday in Kalamazoo, Mich. NIU is the fifth seed with 15 points heading into the MAC Tournament, while Western Michigan is the seventh seed with 12 points.

A loss for Eastern Michigan and a win for the Huskies would secure a home playoff match for NIU.

“I think it’s a really exciting time for the team knowing that if we win on [Thursday] and [a] couple other things happen we could potentially host a game here for the MAC Tournament,” said junior Maggie Renfro. “I definitely think that we have to go to Western and take care of business.”

The Broncos’ biggest strength is on the defensive end. Their 0.65 goals allowed per game average ranks second only to MAC regular season champion Buffalo. They also rank second in shutouts with 10. Renfro said the Huskies will need to take better care of the ball to maximize their opportunities.

“I think we’re going to need to make sure we’re giving each other better angles off the ball and be a little more prepared for when the ball is coming towards us and know what we’re going to do after the ball has gotten to us,” Renfro said.

Western Michigan’s defensive prowess comes from its shot limitation. Redshirt freshman goalie Stephanie Heber has only had to make 35 saves on her way to seven shutouts.

Western Michigan’s offense is in the same place as the Huskies’. The Broncos rank sixth and NIU ranks seventh in the MAC in goals scored.

Seniors Rachel Chaney and Diana Dedvukaj are the Broncos’ top offensive threats. Chaney leads Western Michigan with four goals, and Dedvukaj has two goals and four assists. Her four assists lead the team.

Head coach John Ross said an NIU win would come from the defenders’ and midfielders’ ability to successfully feed the ball up to the forwards. If that happens it’ll be on the forwards to take smart shots like they did in Friday’s 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan.

“We [have to] play sound defense, and when we win that ball we [have to] connect that first pass, and that allows us to open up and get that next pass,” Ross said. “If we win it and turn [it] right over then that typically sends us into a spiraling effect that we’re always defending and we can’t expand our system and create more openings to connect the simple pass.”