NIU begins its charge for the program’s first-ever MAC Championship at 12 p.m. today at Bowling Green University.

“The level of importance of this game is high,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “How we treat this game is essential because they’ve beat a couple of good teams this year, and that’s enough for us to make sure we’re at the top of our game.”

Ranked No. 4 in the Midwest, the Huskies are 7-2-1, having beat then No. 26 St. Louis during its four-game winning streak. All of the victories have been 1-0 games.

Junior goalkeeper Steve Goletz has played a large role in NIU’s four consecutive shutouts.

The Downers Grove native returned for the first game of the streak after missing two games from a concussion suffered against Valparaiso. NIU is 7-0-1 this fall with Goletz in net.

“Assistant coach Ian Clerihew has worked on a lot of situational things with me,” Goletz said. “Going through scouting reports and such has given me a lot of confidence this season.”

Though BG comes in at 2-7-1, its record does not speak for the team’s level of play, Simmons said.

The Falcons beat then No. 11 Ohio State 3-2 on Sept. 23 and are undefeated at home.

NIU’s trip to BG will be the final game of a four-game road trip that began Sept. 24 with the win over St. Louis and followed a two-game losing streak.

“They’re responding well to the traveling,” Simmons said of his team. “More than anything, we are making sure they’re staying on top of their academics and anything non-soccer related.”

HOMECOMING

NIU won’t be celebrating its official homecoming until next weekend.

But a 1 p.m. match Sunday against Loyola will be a homecoming of sorts for the Huskies, who will play their first game at Huskie Soccer Field since Sept. 21.

After ending a three game-losing streak to Eastern Illinois Sunday, NIU will try to end another against Loyola. The Ramblers (4-4-1) beat NIU 4-3 in 2003, Simmons’ first season as head coach.

“That first year we were still trying to come together as a team,” Simmons said. “It’s another local opponent, so we’ll be up for it.”

Loyola’s most recent win was a 3-2 overtime victory over BG. It’s now 1-1 against MAC schools this year, as it lost 3-2 to Western Michigan before its win against BG.

MAC ATTACK

NIU sits at third place in the MAC, based on its overall record.

However, the Huskies have no reason to feel down after they see who’s in front of them.

Akron, ranked No. 2 in the nation, leads the MAC with a 10-0 record and has scored an NCAA-high 37 goals. It is ranked second in all four national collegiate soccer polls.

Next comes Buffalo, which is ranked 20th in the nation in the NSCAA/Adidas poll. The Bulls have put together a 10-1 record this fall. Buffalo also is ranked No. 29 by collegesoccernews.com.

Then comes fourth-place Western Michigan (3-5-1), fifth-place BG and sixth-place Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne. IPFW was added to the conference on Sept. 23 and will play a full MAC schedule.

Akron and IPFW played the first MAC game of the 2005 season, with Akron winning 4-0.