The women’s soccer team looks to continue its winning ways this weekend in a pair of conference matchups.

The Huskies (4-7-1, 2-2 MAC) will hit the road to take on the Bowling Green Falcons (0-10, 0-4 MAC) and the Central Michigan Chippewas (2-9-1, 2-2 MAC). The Huskies will face the Falcons at 6 p.m. Friday and take on the Chippewas on noon Sunday.

Last weekend’s homestand victories put the Huskies back at .500 in MAC play. Tweaks in practices combined with homefield advantage is what head coach John Ross believes led to the wins. He’s hopeful that maintaining that momentum will help the team in upcoming games.

The winless Falcons may represent a trap game for NIU. They’ve been unable to get much going offensively, scoring only seven goals all season. Bowling Green’s defense has been disastrous: The Falcons have allowed 28 goals to this point in the season. They also given opponent scoring opportunities, with teams averaging 24.8 shots against them. Senior forward Cori Frankenberg believes it will still be a tough matchup.

“They’re very aggressive on the attack,” Frankenberg said. “They lost a couple of their seniors, and hopefully we can use that to our advantage and really penetrate their backline.”

In last year’s visit to Bowling Green, the Huskies had to score a last-minute goal to win. Ross expects another hard-fought match.

“They’ve been in a lot of their games,” Ross said. “They can get some results, and we have to make sure we’re on top of our game. We have to make sure we take advantage of the plays we get and capitalize on them.”

Under new head coach Peter

McGahey Central Michigan represents a different matchup for the Huskies. The Chippewas have problems on offense, having scored only six goals. Their defense had been improving before back-to-back losses against Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.

Recent troubles aside, the Chippewas have had a tough schedule, which is a factor in their poor record. While Central Michigan is better than its record suggests, a new coaching regime and the adjustments that come with it have Frankenberg hopeful.

“They’re trying to work out the quirks with that,” Frankenberg said. “We’ll try to use that to our advantage as well. Our experience will help us really put them under pressure and wait for them to make mistakes, so that we can get our opportunities.”

The new coaching situation will play to NIU’s advantage, as Ross has coached against McGahey previously.

“We used to coach against each other when I was at my last school,” Ross said. “For the most part, I know what to expect from them. Obviously, we know their players coming back from last year, and I have a familiarity with the new coaching staff.”

Last year’s playoff loss to Central Michigan has given some extra motivation for the players. Sophomore forward Nicole Gobbo is looking forward to the game.

“A lot of us want to get revenge from last year,” Gobbo said. “They beat us twice and kicked us out of the playoffs. It’s a game to get back at them.”