Only now is the NIU men’s soccer team starting to show some signs of wear and tear.

The Huskies have spent the first half of the season relatively healthy, but have been bitten recently by the injury bug.

Sophomore midfielder Kyle Knotek and junior goalie Joe Zimka both missed this weekend’s two matches. Knotek is nursing a hip flexor, coach Steve Simmons said, while Zimka is dealing with a quadricep injury sustained in the Wisconsin match Sept. 26.

After Friday’s victory over Western Michigan, Simmons said both would be game-day decisions for Sunday’s match with Western Illinois. However, neither played Sunday.

“They’re okay,” Simmons said of the two. “Usually I like to have the guys that are coming off injury to have a good day or two of training so they can kind of get a feel for it again.”

In addition to Knotek and Zimka watching from the sidelines Sunday, senior defender Chris Rufa joined them after a violent first-half collision with a Western Illinois player that left Rufa with a cut on his forehead. Rufa left the game and did not return.

Stepping Up

The sudden rash of injuries has created opportunities for other players to step up.

Goalkeeper Brian Van Buren has filled in for Zimka by posting two consecutive shutouts. Juan Hoyos scored his first goal of the season Sunday. And a host of other Huskies are seeing their playing time increase and are making the most of it, to the delight of Simmons.

“Talk about our depth,” he said. “And you’ve got guys stepping in and getting the job done. That’s gonna happen. You’re gonna have guys go down, and you just wanna be deep enough. Where the players really rewarded me was with the trust of getting it done [by] the ones who haven’t got the time and stepped in today.”

Rare Absence

Missing from the lineup Sunday was Marcus McCarty, the Huskies’ leader in goals scored this season. Simmons kept McCarty out for precautionary reasons because he has four yellow cards on the season. One more would have resulted in a one game suspension, which would have made him unavailable for the next match against Akron.

“If I thought the game dictated that we needed him, I would have definitely gone to him,” Simmons said.