Northern Star

 

Advertisement

 

 
Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student news organization since 1899

 

Ensure student journalism survives. Donate today.

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Junior safety Marlon Moore (2) celebrates recovering a fumble in NIU’s 21-14 win against Ohio on Nov. 18 at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. NIU is now one win away from securing a trip to the MAC Championship. The Huskies take on the Western Michigan Broncos 10 a.m. Nov. 28 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

1 win: That’s what NIU football needs to get back to MAC Championship

By Frank Gogola | November 19, 2014

Football’s victory over the Ohio Bobcats Tuesday positions the Huskies one win away from their fifth-straight trip to Detroit.The Huskies (9-2, 6-1 MAC) beat the Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC), 21-14, at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio. If the Huskies beat the...

Rapid Reaction: NIU 21, Ohio 14

By Frank Gogola | November 18, 2014

What happened: Football (9-2, 6-1 MAC) beat the Ohio Bobcats (5-6, 3-4 MAC), 21-14, Tuesday at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.How it happened: Redshirt senior tailback Cameron Stingily opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of...

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Hare (12) carries the ball during his 78-yard touchdown run on the Huskies’ first series of the game. The Huskies ran for 332 yards while passing for only 54 yards Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich., against the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

Rapid reaction: Football 27, Toledo Rockets 24

By Frank Gogola | November 11, 2014

What happened: The Huskies (8-2, 5-1 MAC) beat the Toledo Rockets (6-4, 5-1 MAC) for the fifth-straight season, 27-24, Tuesday at Huskie Stadium.How it happened: The NIU offense jumped to a 10-0 lead 10 minutes into the first quarter as the defense forced...

Hoops: Fourth win may not come easy

By Brian Earle | February 6, 2014

Men’s basketball will look to extend its conference winning streak to four games when it hosts Western Michigan at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Convocation Center.The Huskies (10-11, 4-5 MAC) have won three straight games against Kent State, Ball State and...

Pass/fail: General education program to change, Super Bowl is why SA will take day off

By Shaz Sheikhali | January 30, 2014

PassThe general education program is finally getting a necessary face lift.The plan is to make gen. eds more relevant to students and their majors. This will make our time and money spent as students worth the while and financial burden.NIU is taking...

Quarterback Jordan Lynch (6) leaps forward through the Ball State defense Nov. 13.

Time to break the Broncos: NIU battles WMU to wrap up season

By Frank Gogola | November 26, 2013

No. 14 football (11-0, 7-0 MAC) still has a lot on the line as it wraps up its season with a match against the Western Michigan Broncos (1-10, 1-6 MAC) at 6 p.m. today at Huskie Stadium.The Huskies have already locked up the MAC West title, but a chance...

 

Men’s tennis faces stern test in first round of MAC Championships

By Thomas Hiley III | April 25, 2013

The men’s tennis team’s (15-8, 3-2 MAC) MAC conference play came to a close last weekend with the win over Buffalo (9-9, 3-2 MAC) 4-3. Next for the Huskies will be the MAC Championship to be played in DeKalb. Their first opponent will be the Ball...

Softball sees draw in weekend series

By Matt Hopkinson | March 31, 2013

Over the weekend, softball got its first taste of home and MAC play as it played Western Michigan in a two-game series. The Huskies (11-18, 1-1 MAC) ended up with a draw in the two games, winning the first 12-5 over the Broncos (10-17, 1-1 MAC). They...

Softball to take on first MAC matchup

By Matt Hopkinson | March 27, 2013

Following a 12-day respite from action, the softball team is prepared to take its home field for the first time this Friday and Saturday against Western Michigan. While a break is good for any sporting team to recoup possible injuries or just to relax,...

Men’s tennis to take on Western Michigan

By Thomas Hiley III | March 27, 2013

NIU men’s tennis will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. Friday to open up its MAC play against Western Michigan (11-7, 1-0 MAC).

Western Michigan won the MAC Tournament from 2006 to 2010, but lost in the semifinals last season to eventual champion Ball State. NIU coach Patrick Fisher is familiar with Western Michigan’s success and knows first-hand how tough the Broncos are; he’s never beaten them in his tenure at NIU.

“Everyone in their lineup is a threat,” Fisher said. “They’ve won the league and gone to the tournament, I would say, seven or eight times out of the last 10. They are the team to beat. They are the class of the league. I think in a lot of ways they’ve been like the Akron of men’s soccer; no one really can beat them on a regular basis.”

The Huskies (14-5) have not matched the Broncos’ success over the past few seasons, but have steadily improved in each campaign.

This season has gone exceptionally well for NIU, already accumulating its most team wins since its 16-win 2002-03 showing with nine matches still scheduled.

The Huskies have made it clear they are ready to be the new breed of the MAC, and with a lineup capable of putting up 14 wins without two-time All-MAC performer Maksym Bartiuk, the once-tested depth of the lineup seems to no longer be a problem.

“We’ve had to deal with an unhealthy lineup this whole year,” Fisher said. “Regardless of where we are at, we still feel we have a good chance to win. We’ve won a lot already without having guys in the lineup at certain times this year.”

Fisher said his current roster has what it takes to avenge last season’s 6-1 loss to the Broncos.

“We’re really excited,” Fisher said. “We’re probably in the best shape going into the conference play in the last four or five years. Obviously, we’ve won a lot and our guys have some great confidence right now. Except for a couple matches, we’ve been in position to win every single match and I don’t see that changing this week.”

Men’s basketball loses to Western Michigan

By Brian Earle | February 17, 2013

Men’s basketball’s 66-58 road loss to Western Michigan will be a tough pill for the team to swallow. With the Huskies (5-19, 3-9 MAC) leading 58-50 with 4:01 left to play in the game, the Broncos (16-9, 8-4 MAC) went on a 16-0 run to close out the...

Freshman Travon Barker (#5) drives to the basket in the game against Western Michigan University on Saturday.

Men’s basketball looks forward to Central Michigan

By Brian Earle | January 22, 2013

Coming off a 71-34 loss against Western Michigan, men’s basektball will look to get back on track when it faces Central Michigan today. The loss to the Broncos was the Huskies’ (3-13, 1-3 MAC) worst defeat of the season and they are looking forward...