By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — The Northern Illinois University men’s soccer team’s regular season opener Thursday has been moved to the Indoor Sports Center at Mercyhealth Sportscore Two due to the extreme heat.

The Huskies will kick off against Western Illinois at 8 p.m. at the center, 8800 E. Riverside Blvd.

NIU has 13 players returning from last season, including 10 different players who scored goals a season ago. Taisei Arima (Machida, Japan/Seiryo) is NIU’s leading returning scorer. He tallied three goals and seven points in 2022. NIU also has 12 newcomers, including eight freshmen.

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Western Illinois is coming off a 2-8-7 season last year.

NIU leads the all-time series against Western Illinois, 27-7, including a 1-0 victory last season in Macomb.

“There will be excitement, from both teams, to get on the field,” NIU head coach Ryan Swan said in a news release. “The expectation is to just keep growing on what we have done in preseason, hopefully get control of the ball early and instill our style of play on the game.”