After starting the season with four road games, the NIU men’s soccer team comes home for a much-anticipated home-opener today.

The Huskies host the NIU Adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational starting today, with play starting at 4:30 p.m. against Missouri-Kansas City.

The Huskies look to take advantage of playing on their home field. They were 9-0-0 last year at home.

“We don’t lose at home. That’s like our whole thing,” senior defender Steve Algozino said. “I think we’ve lost two or three times [at home] since I’ve been here. This is huge for us. We need to get a couple more wins under our belt.”

After playing two top-10 teams last weekend, the Huskies (1-1-2) and coach

Steve Simmons know a let-down is possible, but unlikely.

“You always fear a let-down; it’s hard not to,” Simmons said.

“Because when you play the teams we played last weekend, you really have your sights set on them for quite awhile. And when that moment’s over, you’re looking for a mature response from the team.”

“My expectation is that the guys will respond accordingly. I think we‘ll be ready to go.”

The Huskies’ two opponents this weekend have a combined one loss, so while they may not be of the caliber of last weekend’s opponents – Indiana and Notre Dame – they cannot be taken lightly.

“Both are very, very capable teams of coming in and getting some results this weekend,” Simmons said. “We gotta be on our toes, definitely.”

Simmons said his main concern this weekend is simply making sure his team is focused and ready to go.

“The key thing is making sure that the approach to each game is appropriate,” Simmons said.

“We want to make sure that each game is like an NCAA tournament game. We always want to give ourselves a chance, and I think it starts with the attitude in the locker room, which so far has been pretty good.”