After receiving more than three days of rest for the first time since Sept. 16, the NIU men’s soccer team will put its newly acquired No. 22 national ranking on the line this weekend.

At 2:30 p.m. today at Huskie Soccer Field the Huskies (8-2-2 overall, 1-0 MAC) host Western Michigan. Then at 2:30 p.m. Sunday the Huskies host Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the annual John Lewang Cup match.

The Huskies come in riding a six-game winning streak. Junior goalkeeper Steve Goletz and the Huskies’ defense have recorded six straight shutouts and haven’t allowed a goal in their last 560 minutes of play.

However, WMU (6-5-1, 2-0) comes to NIU on a three-game winning streak. The Broncos’ recent streak includes 3-2 wins over Bowling Green and Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne and a 2-1 double overtime win over Michigan.

WMU is led by sophomore Tom Oatley. The Ann Arbor native leads the team with eight goals.

“It’s our first MAC game at home and the level of importance is very high, as usual,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “They have enough special players that [make] me believe they can come out and play with anyone in the country. With the Lewang Cup, this is the beginning of a very emotional stretch.”

The Lewang Cup is played in honor of former NIU coach John Lewang, who was killed in a car accident prior to the start of the 1981 season. Former Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor Frank E. Horton and former NIU President William R. Monat established the cup to solidify the NIU/UWM rivalry that began in 1975.

UWM is ranked No. 25 in the nation by SoccerAmerica.com, and the Huskies haven’t won the cup since 1999. That year NIU made it to the MAC championship, but it hasn’t made it past the first round since.

MAC Update

The Huskies set of games next weekend consists of playing at No. 1 Akron before hosting No. 21 Buffalo Oct. 21 and 23, respectively.

Ranked No. 1 in all four national collegiate soccer polls, Akron was 11-0 before tying St. John’s 2-2 on Wednesday. The Zips are still first in the nation with 44 goals on the season.

Buffalo’s ranking comes from the NSCAA/Adidas Poll. The team is 10-2 on the season. It lost its last game to Akron 3-0.

Buffalo hosts Bowling Green on Friday and IPFW on Sunday while Akron plays at home against Bowling Green Sunday.