DeKALB | The NIU men’s soccer team had to wait until Saturday to receive the silver lining in the 1-0 double-overtime loss on Friday at Northwestern.

Huskie Soccer Field will be the host site of the MAC Tournament, compliments of a 2-1 Akron win over Buffalo on Saturday.

The good news took the sting out of a bitter loss.

“It is excellent to have the tournament at home,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “It takes a bit of the edge off Friday’s loss.”

A match plagued by wet and windy conditions, NIU was on the cusp of a draw until Northwestern forward Brad North found the back of the net with 69 seconds left to play.

Sophomore midfielder Geoff Fallon picked up the assist on the goal that gave Northwestern (11-6) a dramatic Senior Day win.

“If we can take something from this loss,” Simmons said. “It is that we need to finish the job and close out the game.”

At a to-be-determined time on Friday, NIU will square off with the winner of the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne versus Buffalo match on Tuesday at UB Stadium.

The Huskies will be the top seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament.

Simmons said he and NIU football coach Joe Novak have talked about what it is like for opponents to travel to DeKalb for a game. The two coaches share similar sentiments.

“People from other teams don’t want to come here,” Simmons said. “Other coaches say it is just a different and difficult place to play.”