Even if the stakes weren’t so high, NIU’s loss to Akron still would have been heartbreaking.

But as it turns out, the Huskies fell short of extending their season another match.

Steve Zakuani scored the winning goal for Akron in the 116th minute of double overtime, sending the Zips to the MAC championship match, ending NIU’s season with a 2-1 win.

“This was a classic NIU-Akron matchup,” coach Steve Simmons said. “Both teams really made this one special tonight.”

The loss hurts even more considering the Huskies (7-9-4) got on the board first. Drew Jeskey scored off a rebound from a Chris Rufa misfire in the 38th minute, giving NIU a 1-0 lead.

But Akron scored the equalizer just before halftime, getting a goal from Michael Nanchoff to even the score.

The two teams played evenly over the next 60 minutes until Zakuani’s goal.

Junior goalkeeper Joe Zimka made nine saves to anchor the Huskies’ defense. The Huskies only had seven shots compared to 20 for the Zips, led by Steve Algozino, Fraser Gibson and Jeskey with two each. Algozino and Gibson were two of seven seniors playing in their last match.

“The seniors led with tremendous heart, and put everything on the field,” Simmons said. “Hats off to them for what they’ve done. I’m proud to have been their coach.”

The Huskies followed up last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance by falling short of that goal this season, but with a strong core of playing returning, including Zimka, Jeskey, Kyle Knotek, Chris Johnson and Steve Kolzow, the Huskies can look forward to being competitive again next season.

“When you raise the bar high, you experience the highest of joys and the lowest of lows,” Simmons said. “We look forward to getting back to work and preparing for next season.”