Miller to team: It’s go time.

The NIU women’s soccer team takes to the road this weekend to fight for its postseason competition. NIU squares off with offensive juggernaut Ball State at 2 p.m. today, and Miami-Ohio at noon Sunday.

NIU coach Marci Miller wants her team to put the proverbial ‘pedal to the metal’ to meet its season-long goal of qualifying for the MAC tournament.

“As a team, we need to learn to go after teams all the time,” said Miller, who rejoined the Huskies this week after her stint with the U.S. National Team. “When we sit back, we struggle. We’ve got to have a sharp mentality to go on the road and do well.”

The road to postseason play won’t be easy to navigate. With three games left, ninth place NIU (4-7-2 overall, 3-5 MAC) is one spot from being tournament eligible, but must face three teams with a grasp on a postseason birth.

Miller said BSU (12-3-1, 5-2-1) is the most possession-oriented team in the MAC. The Huskies’ practice time Wednesday was a rapid-fire succession of shots from Miller and assistant coach Paul Jobson.

The multi-dimensional BSU is the MAC leader in shots on goal (242), points (97) and goals (35). Ball State has five players who have at least 10 points. On defense there is no letdown, as Allison Becker ranks as the No. 1 keeper in the MAC with a .063 goals-against-average.

NIU is led in scoring by sophomore forward Karen Enockson, who has nine points. A late-season surge from Elaine Eliadis has the junior defenseman second on the team with eight points.

Miami (6-7, 4-4) is led by Kathleen Vistica’s 13 points. Between the pipes, the RedHawks have used Leigh Terry and Shannon Chew in every game. The duo has posted 4 shutouts.

In its last six games NIU is 3-3, and Miller hopes her team has peaked at the right time.

“Our forwards are playing with more confidence now,” Miller said. “Even though we lost to EMU, we out-shot them. Our ability to score goals and make runs at the box has gotten better. We’ve progressed as a team, for sure.”

In three games, the first-year coach will know if progress equals a MAC tournament berth.