One of the strengths for NIU men’s soccer this season is its depth. A total of 19 field players have seen time on the field and have contributed.

Sophomore Paul Hogan has become one of the players that the Huskies can count on, whether he is starting or coming off the bench.

However, Hogan has been suffering in what is known as the “sophomore slump,” which is when a second year player struggles to find the form they had in their first year of play. As a freshman, Hogan appeared in 20 games and scored three goals. This season, in 12 games, Hogan has taken just five shots and not recorded a goal.

Despite his struggles in front of the goal, Hogan is a player that coach Eric Luzzi likes very much.

“The thing about Paul that’s awesome is, he’s just one of those guys who just puts his head down and gets the job done,” Luzzi said. “He doesn’t say a lot, he never complains about anything, and he’s pretty consistent. We just kind of know what we are going to get from Paul.”

Hogan has a quiet, yet confident persona. He is at his best when he has his back to the goal, shielding a defender, using his lower center of gravity.

“Usually I’m playing forward or attacking mid,” Hogan said. “So, I’m just trying to hold the ball up and trying to bring an aggressive mentality to the team and [I] hope it will rub off.”

Hogan fits into the Huskies’ playing style perfectly. He is a great one-touch passer and looks to combine with other players when he is on the ball.

He doesn’t have blazing speed and isn’t one of the biggest players on the field, but Luzzi said Hogan is strong mentally.

“He’s got a very good soccer brain,” Luzzi said. “[He’s] pretty technical, he works, and he cares a lot about our team. So, you start putting all that together [and] you come up with a pretty good player.”

Despite being on the top half of the MAC conference, the Huskies will need attacking players, like Hogan, to start finding the goal.

If the Huskies want a spot in the MAC tournament, they will have to add to their 10 goal total on the season and put the ball in the back of the net.