Down one man the entire second half, the NIU men’s soccer team lost 2-1 in overtime Wednesday at Western Illinois, ending a 12-game winning streak.

Freshman defenseman Steve Algozino grabbed an opposing player’s jersey, which was enough for the official to give him a red card and force the Huskies (0-1) play 11 on 10 soccer for the remainder of the second half and the overtime period.

“I thought the official made the right call,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “But the referee’s influence wasn’t a part of what happened.”

NIU attacked WIU’s net very well in the first half, but didn’t take advantage of its opportunities, Simmons said.

“We really imposed ourselves a lot in the first half,” Simmons said. “But we didn’t have a lot to show for it, and we let our opponent off the hook.”

Freshman Curt Zastrow scored NIU’s first goal of the season in the first half. The second-year coach also said he saw the team come together at times, but he believes it’s still going to be a while before the team, with three seniors and 12 new players, really comes together.

NIU used a number of different lineups because the team has two games in four days, with its next match against Eastern Illinois at home on Saturday. However, the NCAA changed the re-entry rule in the second half for the second straight year in men’s soccer, which allows a player to come back into the game in the second half if he had already come out, whereas last year if a player came out in the second half, he wouldn’t be allowed to re-enter.