With its last game before the MAC tournament, the NIU men’s soccer team made a statement.

The Huskies clinched second place in the conference with a 2-1 win over Western Michigan Thursday afternoon.

“We played with tremendous energy,” said NIU head coach Steve Simmons. “That’s what we wanted to do. This win puts us at the No. 2 seed which is absolute madness.”

Absolute madness is what the team (9-5-4 overall, 4-1-1 MAC) experienced as its bus broke down on the way to Kalamazoo, Mich.

Simmons and his team arrived at the field only 30 minutes before kick-off.

Despite the bus’ blown engine, the team’s engine ran steady as NIU handed Western Michigan (3-12-1, 2-3-0 MAC) their first home conference loss of the season.

“It’s a tough place to play, but our energy was good, and we created a lot of chances,” Simmons said. “It was a tough win at a tough place.”

Junior Ben Thomas was the first to put a tally on the board in the game’s 49th minute to notch his fourth goal of the season.

After a long throw-in by junior Danny Lopez, freshman Tim King was able to put the ball in the box, where Thomas beat his defender to put NIU up 1-0.

The Broncos answered with a goal of their own eight minutes later, but the Huskies were not ready to lose their chance of clinching the second place conference spot.

In the 73rd minute, sophomore transfer Matt Zirretta netted his first goal of the season.

“Our corner kick was cleared out, but Brad Horton put it back in,” Simmons said of the go-ahead goal. “There was a shuffle in the box and Matt was able to put it away for us with the winner.”

The Huskies finished regular season play much like they played all season, out-shooting their opponent by a large margin.

NIU took 15 shots, placing five on goal, while the Broncos only fired off three shots, with two on goal. NIU also found an advantage in corner kicks, grabbing four.

“We like the position that the win has put us in,” Simmons said. “Now we’ve got a week to rest and prepare for the MAC tournament.”