Name the MAC men’s soccer team that’s No. 1 in the nation, holds a 10-1 all-time series lead over NIU and is tops in the NCAA with 45 goals on the season.

Akron is that team, and it will host the NIU men’s soccer team today at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on niuhuskies.com. On Sunday, NIU (9-3-2 overall, 2-0 MAC) will play a 1 p.m. game against No. 20 Buffalo at Huskie Soccer Field.

“We have family and alumni, even fans in Norway, that want to listen to the Akron game,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “It’s also going to be great to have the support of the athletics department staff as [NIU Athletics Director] Jim Phillips and some of the other staff are going to be at the game.”

Along with its offensive firepower, Akron (12-0-1, 3-0) will have its brick wall in net. Goalkeeper Evan Bush is No. 8 in the NCAA with a .46 goals-against-average.

However, the Huskies will be packing a little defense of their own in junior goalkeeper Steve Goletz. The Downers Grove native is No. 5 in the NCAA with a .40 GAA.

With eight shutouts this season, Goletz ranks second on NIU’s all-time list with 15 career shutouts. The team is 9-1-2 with him in net.

Goletz and the Huskies’ defense recently had a seven-game shutout streak snapped. On Sunday, No. 25 Wisconsin-Milwaukee scored 11 minutes into the second half. It was the first time a team had scored in 736 minutes of play against NIU.

In that time the Huskies went 6-0-1 and reached a No. 22 national ranking in the NSCAA/Adidas Poll before dropping out this week. NIU is ranked No. 5 in the Midwest by the same poll.

So what does NIU need to do for a win?

“We have to have a total commitment to our game plan,” Simmons said. “We have to play like we can play with anyone in the country. We’re going to play to compete and win.”

Simmons said the team is playing in arguably its biggest game of the year against Akron, and the entire weekend is full of MAC title implications.

Buffalo has already lost 3-0 to Akron and will carry a 12-2 record into Western Michigan Friday. Both Buffalo and WMU are 2-1 in the MAC.

With only six teams in the conference, and each getting one game against the others, Simmons said there is no room for error when it comes to conference games.

“Playing the No. 1 team is big,” Simmons said. “But we’re also playing for a MAC title, and that’s what we want to accomplish along with making the NCAA tournament and being a team that is consistently in the Top 25.”

NIU and Buffalo each played St. Francis (Penn.) this year. The Huskies won 2-1 while Buffalo lost 1-0. NIU holds a 5-4 all-time advantage against a Buffalo team that began the season 8-0.

“Win, lose or draw, we have to respond against Buffalo,” Simmons said. “This weekend is definitive of how the MAC title will be decided. We have to have a quick turnaround mentally and physically. We also want to have a good send off on Sunday for the seniors on Senior Day.”