Having skill is important in soccer, but if you don’t have the strong work ethic to go along with that skill then you wont be a successful player.

Freshman mid-fielder Gabe Christianson doesn’t need to worry about his effort, because the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native is a workhorse for the Huskies.

Whether it’s coming off the bench or earning the start, Christianson is everywhere on the field. He is a true box-to-box mid-fielder that likes to put pressure on opposing teams.

“I like to come out and really be the aggressor, Christianson said. “[We want to] be the aggressive team and really put the other team under pressure and make them have to play out of their half.”

Christianson has started in three matches this season for the Huskies, including wins against Iona and Florida Atlantic. No other freshman except Charlie Oliver has started more games this season. Oliver has started in nine games.

It’s fitting that both Oliver and Christianson lead freshmen in starts as they both came in a semester early and had a full spring season to practice with the team.

“I feel like it’s helped me out a lot,” Christianson said. “Obviously, there’s a big adjustment from high school to college, so it was great to come in and get adjusted to the college lifestyle and adjusted to the speed of play. Obviously, because college is a lot faster than what your used to in high school.”

Coach Eric Luzzi said Christianson’s energy is a necessity to his game.

“Gabe’s a worker,” Luzzi said. “I think what Gabe does is he brings energy. Obviously, we have some talented players but we want to be a team that plays at a high pace and a high rate of energy. He’s a good soccer player too but I think the thing that he brings most is his energy.”

In their first conference win against Florida Atlantic, the Huskies made some changes to their line up moving senior Mike Mascitti from central mid-field to a center back position. Christianson then slotted into the vacant mid-field role and performed well helping the Huskies to their second win of the season.

With a goal and an assist on the year so far, it is clear that Christianson will be a key part of the Huskies. If Mascitti stays in the back line, Christianson will have to fight for the starting center midfield spot with junior Sean Totsch, who also has a goal on the year.

Christianson said playing and attending NIU is just a good fit for him.

“Obviously they had a lot of success this past year and I feel like the school kind of fit me,” Christianson said. “I wanted to go into the business school and they have a good business school here. The team seemed to fit right, they were looking for an attacking mid-fielder and that’s what I like to play, so it just fit.”