DeKALB | As the top seed and host school for the MAC Tournament, the NIU men’s soccer team has the proverbial bull’s-eye on its back.

The play-in games are today at the higher-seeded schools with the semi-finals and championships Friday and Sunday at Huskie Soccer Field.

The opening game is No. 6 seed Bowling Green (3-13-1 overall, 0-5 MAC) at No. 3 Western Michigan (6-11-1, 3-2) at 3 p.m. today.

Despite a poor overall record, a stunning 1-0 upset Oct. 14 at Buffalo gives WMU a three seed and home game. WMU just beat BGSU 2-1 Friday, and is 4-0 in the playoffs at “The Farm,” their home pitch.

Junior forward Terry Dowding has seven goals for WMU and should be the difference. WMU must be wary of an upset by a young and determined BGSU but should come out on top.

Game 2 between No. 5 Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne and No. 4 Buffalo is at 7 p.m. at UB Stadium. IPFW should prove to be an easy obstacle to overcome for Buffalo.

No. 2 Akron (12-4-1, 4-1) and No. 1 NIU (12-5, 4-1) have a bye into Friday’s semi-final matches.

Akron should handle the winner of WMU/BGSU with its swift offensive attack and be in Sunday’s championship game.

Senior forward Sinisa Ubiparipovic is back after a leg injury and junior midfielder Steve Kalan just made the College Soccer News National Team of the Week based on three goals in his last four games.

The other semifinal game is No. 1 NIU versus the winner of IPFW/Buffalo. If UB does take care of IPFW, look for the winner of this game to get the automatic NCAA berth. The Bulls defense is as physical as they come, which is why UB handed NIU its only MAC loss.

But NIU counters with a perfect 6-0 home record and the best defensive back line in the MAC which should be good enough to set up a Sunday title game rematch with Akron.

The automatic NCAA berth will be on the line at 2 p.m. Sunday at Huskie Soccer Field. The game will be televised locally by Comcast SportsNet.

NIU posted a 1-0 Senior Day win on Oct. 14 behind a point-blank range goal from Marcus McCarty. In that game Akron lost Ubiparipovic to injury and the NIU defense imposed its physical nature on a team that likes to play a finesse style.

If Akron can slow down McCarty, look for NIU to rely on its depth. Freshman forward Luis De La Cerda and senior midfielders Justin McGrane and Kevin Woerner should be enough to get the result and send NIU a guaranteed invite to the “Big Dance” of the NCAA tournament.