Upon entering the Huskie Soccer Field, the men’s soccer team could be seen concluding its practice devoted to working on the one thing that has plagued it all season: putting the ball in the net.

Fraser Gibson, Marcus McCarty and Juan Hoyos worked against goalie Joe Zimka, taking passes from assistant coach Eric Luzzi in front of the net.

Defenders Steve Algozino and Chris Rufa – two of the tallest players on the team – worked on headers on a side net. Chris Johnson, Bryan Abdallah and Luis De La Cerda, among others, worked on cross kicks from the corner.

The work was in an effort to get some extra practice in before the Huskies face No. 11 Northwestern, an excellent defensive team and arguably the best team on their schedule.

“Definitely, our focus has been to get more chances on goal,” Rufa said after practice. “We’ve been creating a lot better chances, we just haven’t been able to put them away.”

While the fact remains the Huskies have struggled at times with converting scoring opportunities, they have played well for the last two weeks. They had home wins over Western Michigan and Western Illinois two weekends ago, a tie with No. 21 Akron the next weekend, followed by an overtime loss to Buffalo, a match in which coach Steve Simmons strongly believes his was the superior team.

“We’re not dwelling on past games at all,” Rufa said. “We’re just focusing one game at a time.”

NIU (4-6-4, 1-1-1) will have to focus hard on the Wildcats, and will especially need to convert scoring chances. Northwestern has recorded eight shutouts and given up only six goals this season.

“They’re having an awesome year, and we’ve always had some close battles,” Simmons said. “If we’re going to have a chance in this game, we’re going to have to take the chances that we earn. It will be a very competitive match.”

Simmons also believes this is a great opportunity for the Huskies to face a tough challenge.

“This is a fantastic challenge,” Simmons said. “Their backs are very organized, their goalkeeper has been doing a very good job and their attacking pieces are good. It will be a wonderful challenge for us. These are the kind of games we want to play.”

The Huskies realize the season is winding down, and now is as good a time as any to start a late season charge to the NCAA Tournament.

“Until our last game’s done and our season’s officially over,” Rufa said, “we’re going to keep pushing and doing everything we can to try to get into the [NCAA] tournament.”