Games in the Mid-American Conference are typically filled with very physical play and a lot of energy and don’t expect anything less for the NIU men’s soccer conference opener.

The Huskies open up MAC play at 1 p.m. Saturday against Hartwick in DeKalb and will be in search of a fourth straight shutout.

“I’m sure they’ll come in fired up, and it’s a typical MAC contest,” said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. “I’m sure it will be intense and lively and spirited and hopefully we can put together another good performance and take care of what we need to take care of.”

Since its 0-2-1 start to the season, NIU (4-2-2) has remained unbeaten in five matches including four victories.

Hartwick (1-7-1, 0-1-0 MAC), on the other hand, is experiencing a slightly different season and won its first and only game this last weekend and dropped its opening MAC contest 1-0 to Buffalo thanks to an own goal.

“I expect them to be pretty pumped up to play because they haven’t had the best season,” said senior striker Juan Hoyos. “We just have to come out like it’s the first game of our season, and we’ll have to come out with energy and just destroy them at our home field.”

Both the Huskies and Hawks are averaging just one goal per game, but on the defensive side, Hartwick gives up over two goals on average per game while NIU allows 0.5 goals per match.

Freshman striker James Stevenson leads the Huskies with three goals on 11 shots in just eight appearances.

Midway through the regular season both NIU keepers have stood tall while splitting time in net. Redshirt junior Nate DuBois is 2-0-0 with one shutout and a 0.50 goals against average while sophomore Jordan Godsey is 2-2-2 with four shutouts and a 0.47 goals against average.

For the Hawks, senior midfielder Steven Amaya is the attacking threat with four goals on 14 shots and one assist.

“I think that our last couple of games really show what we’re capable of doing, and we still have so much room for improvement,” Hoyos said. “I just can’t wait to show up against Hartwick and really take it to them and maybe score three goals or more.”