DeKALB | A master chef knows when to add the proper ingredient at just the right time.

That seems to be the overall consensus around the NIU soccer program on National Signing Day.

For NIU men’s soccer coach Steve Simmons, the metaphor proves to be even more true. Simmons returns a strong core that won a MAC title and a first-round home game in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s about making the soup more seasoned,” Simmons said. “We’ve got the soup, I think we’ve got a good thing going here, these ‘07 kids will provide the seasoning. In the future, the ‘07 kids will be stall worth for us, maybe even next year.”

Size, speed and versatility highlight the 2007 class. Simmons said the NIU resume over the last three years has been a powerful recruiting tool.

“We are going after the highest strata possible,” Simmons said. “No longer do the kids have to go into my mind to see the future. Over the last three years, we have the 13th best wining percentage in the country, and the 22nd best RPI.”

Coming into the fold for the women is an eight-player class coach Marci Miller said will contribute to the cohesiveness of a team that made it to the 2006 MAC title game and posted the most wins by a NIU women’s soccer team since 1998.

With a group of experienced decision makers in tow, Miller said she is excited to get the entire team in sync mentally.

“This group adds to our core of 21 players,” Miller said. “They have the qualities we look for: They will bust their butts and work hard.”