The Great Lakes Lacrosse League season kicked off this weekend.

NIU began its GLLL season with a pair of home games against Loyola and Holy Cross Saturday.

The Huskies (1-1) used a well balanced scoring attack in their 10-3 victory over the Ramblers (0-1). Three Huskies had multi-goal performances in the victory against Loyola. Sophomore attackmen Mike Walczak led the way with a hat-trick for the Huskies. Junior midfielder Evan Schoespki and sophomore attackmen Tony Chavez both scored a pair of goals.

The Huskies were unable to carry the momentum earned from their first victory into their second game against Holy Cross (1-0). The Huskie lost by a score of 11-5. NIU was trying to play catch up Saturday against the Saints. The Huskies fell behind 2-0, but were able to tie the game by the end of the first period. The Huskies trailed 4-3 at halftime, and that was the closest they would get.

Mitch Gunn, NIU junior midfielder, said the team was fighting an uphill battle in its against Holy Cross.

“Holy cross is a great opponent,” Gunn said. “They’re a very skilled team. They beat us on a few key points, and we were on their heels the entire game. They just came out on top.”

There was one bright spot in the loss to the Saints, however, as Walczak registered his second hat-trick of the day in the 11-5 loss.

After the games, Walczak was quick to credit his teammates who put him in the position to score six goals on the afternoon.

“All it means is that things were falling my way today,” Walczak said. “A lot of players set me up pretty well today.”

In preparation of its National Tournament match up in April, NIU’s men’s rugby team returned to the field with an exhibition against Lake Forest.

The Huskies, who hadn’t been in game action since the fall, beat the Forresters 34-3.

Osama Shayeb, NIU senior prop, said it felt good to finally see somebody other than his own teammates in practice.

“Oh, it was great,” Shayeb said. “The best feeling ever; just like home. To be back outside, everyone was happy on the team. Everyone had a good game.”

Shayeb said there was one key factor in the victory over Lake Forest College.

“I have to say fitness,” Shayeb said. “Fitness was one of the key factors. We’ve been working really hard since January. Working at the Rec four times a week, now we’re outside four times a week for a lot longer than the other teams we’re going to be playing.”

Joseph Swon, NIU sophomore fly-half, had two tries in the victory over the Forrester.

Paul Huguet, a new addition and MBA student for the Huskies, also had two tries in the victory over Lake Forest.