NIU men’s soccer looks to bounce back after its first loss, as it faces off against Phoenix of UW Green Bay, Friday.

After seeing the Huskies (0-1-0) play a solid second half of soccer against the Creighton Bluejays, head coach Eric Luzzi wants a full performance out of his players.

“The first thing is a 90 minute performance,” Luzzi said. “I think against Creighton we were really good in the second half and not very good in the first half. So I think the first thing is a full 90.”

The Phoenix (1-1-0) enter this contest with two games under their belt with a win against Northern Kentucky and a loss against Marquette.

Led by senior goalkeeper Ryan Wehking and junior forward Sam Krenzien, UW Green Bay looks to get another win Friday.

Wehking recorded the 20th shutout of his career, setting a program record for the Phoenix. Krenzien looks to get his first goal of the season, coming off six goals in 2011.

Senior defender Rocco Taglia played in every game last year for the Huskies and brings confidence back into the squad.

“We’ve heard their front four is very good,” Taglia said, “But at any moment I would take our back four against their front four. We also heard that their back six isn’t that good so I think we can take advantage of that.”

Paired with sophomore Dusty Page at the center of the defense, its Taglia’s big game experience that plays a part in solidifying the back four.

“We’ve been working a lot this week, working out a few kinks,” Taglia said. “Dusty and I are linked together better, off the field we’ve kind of talked about everything and figured everything out. So I think our back four is solid.”