It’s safe to say that the NIU men’s soccer team that competed this weekend was the team everyone expected to see the entire season.

Putting a rough first half of the season behind them, the Huskies capped a two-game homestand with a 1-0 victory over interstate rival Western Illinois Sunday afternoon at Huskie Soccer Field.

NIU opened its MAC schedule Friday evening with a convincing 4-0 win over Western Michigan.

They carried that momentum into Sunday, getting a goal early in the second half from Juan Hoyos for the only goal of the game. Hoyos received a free kick from goalie Brian Van Buren and split two defenders on the offensive half for the Huskies, slipping a shot past Leathernecks goalie Stephen Paterson.

“The timing of this couldn’t have been better,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “It’s always a good time to win, no doubt about it. It’s good to do it at home, and they were pretty meaningful games.

“Every time we play Western [Illinois], it’s always a dogfight, and it was today. We talk about guys making plays, and Juan made a play, and that was the difference.”

The Huskies’ defense also stepped up this weekend, allowing a total of three shots on goal in two games. But the solid defensive play didn’t come as a surprise to Simmons.

“I think we’ve showed some better initiative in our attacking,” Simmons said. “And that’s taken some of the pressure off our defense. I think that was a big difference.”

The Huskies (4-5-3, 1-0) dominated their match with the Broncos. Senior Steve Algozino provided all the offense NIU needed with a goal with under a minute left in the first half.

“That absolutely crushed their momentum,” Simmons said. “You could see that in the second half.”

The Huskies added three more tallies in the second half, giving them their highest scoring output of the season. Chris Johnson scored his second goal of the season on a shot from the right side. Fraser Gibson and Marcus McCarty added goals in the final five minutes, both coming on penalty kicks.

“A lot of guys stepped up,” Simmons said. “Sometimes a team has to see the ball go in to earn that confidence.”

The Huskies seem to be hitting a little bit of a stride, and it couldn’t be coming at a better time. NIU’s next match is a MAC contest against No. 22 Akron.

One of things that will help the Huskies down the stretch is their depth, which they showed this weekend. Missing from action were sophomore Kyle Knotek and goalie Joe Zimka, who were out with injuries. NIU didn’t miss a beat without them.

“The depth we have now is great,” Algozino said. “We could have any player come in and we won’t step out of form at all. It’s great with the way the new guys are playing.”