The 10th annual Alumnae SoccerFest kicked off at noon Saturday at Huskie Soccer Field.

The NIU women’s soccer team defeated the alumni 3-1 and the men’s team topped its elder counterparts 5-1.

Jill Heikkila and Angeline Impelido scored the only first-half goals for either team as the current Huskies led 2-0 at the break.

Freshman Megan Kolkay scored her first goal in a Huskie uniform. Kolkay’s shot into the back-left corner of the net extended the Huskies lead to three.

The alumna ended any thoughts of a shutout when Anna Marinaccio squeaked in a rebound for the score after Allison Wade’s shot was blocked.

The female alumna received no help from the officials, being called for four fouls to NIU’s six. The male alumni, on the other hand, were called for two penalties to NIU’s 19.

Sarah "Willy" Wilkins, who played at NIU from 1995 through ‘98, came back to play because she never lost her passion for the game.

"It’s always good to get out here and see if the team chemistry is still there," Wilkins said.

While the women headed back to the locker room, Steve Simmons jogged onto the Huskie Soccer Field for the first time as the head coach for the NIU men’s soccer team.

"He is extremely intense, has a winning attitude and him being here will make for a great season in my last year," senior Matt Stukenberg said.

The elder and heavier alumni were forced to play two heat-scorching 35-minute halves. The more aggressive style of offense instilled by Simmons, as opposed to the passive offense taught by recent NIU men’s soccer coach Willy Roy, took its toll on the alumni.

Vrahram Kadkhodaian recorded a hat trick with his first goal coming five minutes into the game. Kadkhodaian weaved to his left through three alumni defenders and scored back to the right side of the net on alumni goalkeeper Steve Brody.

Freshman Justin McGrane scored the next pair of goals, putting the Huskies ahead 3-0.

The alumni got on the board with the second penalty kick of the game attempted by Mike Gentile, but it proved to be their lone goal.

Kadkhodaian’s final two goals closed out the scoring and the play of Mike Corvo, Simmons’ lone freshman recruit of the seven that came in, caught the eye of onlookers.

"He’s working hard and is looking good so far," Stukenberg said. "He’ll be a good addition to the team."

In honor of the MAC’s preseason No. 1 NIU football team, here are a few odds on what will happen throughout the season.

Joe Novak gets a lap dance in Alabama after the Huskies top the host Tide -- a la Mike Price.

Star running back Michael Turner invited to New York’s Downtown Athletic Club for the Heisman Award. Five percent chance he’ll win the award.

The Huskies end the year as top 25 team. Double that (40 percent) that they make their way into the top 25 at some point throughout the season.

Both Maryland and Iowa State leave DeKalb with corn stalks rammed up their rears because they got it pounded to them so bad by NIU. The Huskies are the only MAC school to host two BCS schools this year and for them to get two W’s would prove monumental.

NIU goes undefeated, wins its bowl game and head coach Smokin’ Joe Novak shows where the nickname came from. He lights up a fat stoagie while body surfing through the hands of the Huskie faithful.

Turner petitions to the NCAA that former NIU offensive linemen Ryan Diem (Colts) and Tim Vincent (Bears) still have a remaining year of college eligibility left. Already expected to be a down year for the offensive line, it didn’t help when news got out that Mark Orszula will be out for the entire year, again (leg). And, of course, the tragic death of 6-foot-8, 283-pound OT Shea Fitzgerald in the Chicago Porch Collapse left a sore spot in everyone’s hearts.

Dan Sheldon leads the nation in punt returns again and shows why he has the nickname Seabiscut. Subsequently, the Burlington Central-native has a big screen movie made about him, just as his (nick)namesake.

NIU students take down the practice goal post following a Maryland win. After intense persistence from the higher-ups at NIU to not let any students on or near the field in ‘02 -- for fear the goal posts may come down on them -- the students revolt against the system and take the practice goal post to the East Lagoon circa 1999.

Fifth-year NIU receiver PJ Fleck and his roommate and Huskie starting quarterback Josh Haldi will get along. If Fleck wants to improve on his team-high 59 receptions in 2001, expect Haldi to -- courtesy of Fleck -- get a few breakfast-in-beds and to have his clothes ironed and picked out for him when he wakes.

The nickname Turner the Burner will grow on everyone, including The Burner himself, who doesn’t exactly take a special kinship with it now.

All-MAC cornerback Randee Drew pulls a RuPaul and goes both ways. The speedster originally from Wisconsin could add an extra boost to Haldi’s receiving core.

Everyone, and this especially includes the Chicago media, realize who has the best DI-A football team in Illinois. Who could it be? Certainly not the Wildcats or Illini.