All of the preparation and hard work the NIU women’s soccer team put in will hopefully pay off this weekend as the Huskies hit the road to face two tough conference opponents.

For the second straight season, NIU (3-2-2) opens the MAC season at Bowling Green (3-4-1) and University of Toledo (5-2-1). The Huskies face BGSU at 3 p.m. CDT today and square off with the defending MAC champion Rockets Sunday at noon CDT.

“We’ve kept our focus on the way we’ve been preparing all year, which has been for the conference,” said associate head coach Paul Jobson. “Mentally the girls seem like they’re in a really good place and they’re really excited about starting the conference.”

BGSU and UT had the Huskies’ number in the 2006 season, as they lost to the Falcons 1-0 and fell 3-0 to the Rockets. NIU also looks to avenge a 2-1 loss in the MAC Championship game at the hands of the Rockets.

Just as NIU is a young team with many returning starters, BGSU is returning a good amount of players. The Falcons lost only one player to graduation and should be one of the top contenders in the MAC, Jobson said.

“They’re always very well organized and very well coached,” said Jobson. “They’re going to be very similar to what we saw last year and they’re going to be a good team.”

Toledo, on the other hand, lost a lot of players to graduation but are returning its top two scorers from last season, sophomore forwards Molly Cornwell and Ali Leak.

“[Cornwell and Leak] are very tough to handle and in the midfield they’re always very good,” Jobson said. “They’ve lost a lot of good players but they’ve stepped right in with a lot of young players that are really good.”

The Huskies look forward to the competition this weekend as they look to get a good start on improving the 5-6 conference record they posted last season.

“We’re ready to go to Toledo and Bowling Green,” said senior forward Karen Enockson. “I think we have something to prove to both those teams so we’re excited to go and get some wins on the road and start conference off right.”