A day of firsts was topped off by the first win of the season for NIU coach Steve Simmons and the men’s soccer team.

Bernhard Hagevik and Vraham Kadkhodaian recorded their first goals of the season in a 3-1 win over Marshall (1-7-0, 0-2 MAC) on Sunday.

“The light bulb came on,” Simmons said. “The guys are understanding the value of training and performance. If they just believe it’s going to happen, it can.”

For the first time in the program’s history, the Huskies (1-6-2, 1-0) went winless eight games in a row, until defeating Marshall. The Thundering Herd extended their losing streak to seven games.

The first goal of the game came on a pass across the middle from NIU freshman Kevin Woerner to set up Hagevik from 16 yards out for a 1-0 lead.

With eight minutes left in the first half, Simmons sent in Kadkhodaian to get in fresh legs on offense. One minute later, the move paid off. Freshman Jose Alvarado put all of his 140-pound frame into a pass from midfield, and Kadkhodaian managed to slip by the Herd’s defense to find a wide open net for the score.

Up 2-0 at halftime, NIU was faced with a similar situation at its game against IUPUI. The Huskies led 3-0 at the half against IUPUI, but lost 4-3. Simmons told the players there was one way they can win back the IUPUI game.

“It’s the same feeling we had at halftime (against IUPUI) and we can prove we learned from that,” Simmons told his players. “I’m not gonna be your cheerleader. You should know right now that it comes from within, and we have a chance to rectify that loss.”

NIU looked as if it was following suit when Marshall’s Jared Dombrowski began the Herd’s comeback attempt with 21:27 remaining in regulation. Dombrowski split through Huskies’ defenders Jason Sullivan and Bruce Conrad before scoring from 12 yards out on freshman goalkeeper Matt Corcoran.

Leading 2-1, Hagevik recorded his first assist of the season, finding sophomore Tony Deldin wide open on the right side. Deldin’s team-leading third goal of the season put the Huskies up 3-1 – a lead they held for good.

Sullivan, who was not expected to play because of a knee injury, said he felt NIU gained confidence after its third goal.

“We weren’t so scared after that third goal,” Sullivan said. “We got our composure and confidence back.”

Marshall coach Bob Gray said he knew his team was in for a battle, after the two tough matches Marshall won against NIU last year.

“We play well and then get our heads down when something bad happens,” Gray said. “But we must give them credit where credit is due. They’re a pretty good team.”