Fresh off its first win of the season, NIU women’s soccer (1-5-2) will begin its conference schedule when Toledo comes to DeKalb today.

The Huskies closed the door on their nonconference portion of the regular season schedule, avoiding going winless with their performance against Loyola, winning 2-0.

The matchup against the Rockets will serve as a litmus test of sorts for NIU, as Toledo was the regular season champion last season.

“The first game of a conference schedule is always exciting because you’re starting another season,” said NIU head women’s soccer coach Carrie Barker. “The season has two parts; the nonconference portion and the conference portion.”

Junior Natalia Gaitan leads Toledo, who served as co-captain of the 2011 Columbia national team that qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.

“She has international experience,” Barker said. “We have a player with international experience [in Amy Carr.] She will have their defense organized in the back. She’s a player we will have to deal with.”

On Sunday, the Huskies will head to Muncie, Ind. to face off against the Ball State Cardinals (5-4-3). The Cardinals ride a four-game unbeaten streak.

Barker holds an unbeaten record against Ball State at 3-0.

Barker expects conference play to become more intense and plans to see more success from NIU.

“We’ve had a chance to learn and get stronger with each game,” Barker said. “Conference games should make for extremely physical battles.”