The Drake University men's soccer team plays at Northern Illinois Tuesday night in the team's final non-conference contest of the regular season. First kick in DeKalb, Ill., is scheduled for 7 p.m. Following its midweek non-conference match, Drake returns to Missouri Valley Conference play when it hosts Bradley Saturday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Cownie Soccer Complex. That match is slated to be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Drake (6-4-1, 1-1-1 MVC) is coming off a 2-1 road defeat at Evansville this past Saturday. The Purple Aces scored a goal in the 88^th minute to give the Bulldogs their first MVC loss. Drake, which fell behind 1-0 after Evansville scored an early goal in the fifth minute, evened the score out of halftime as Steven Enna (Overland Park, Kan.) scored his fourth goal of the season.
 
Drake and Northern Illinois (7-5) will play each other for the first time since 2012 in a series that the Huskies hold a slight edge in all-time at 4-3-2. The teams battled to a 1-1 draw in 2012. Drake is looking to beat NIU for the first time since the 2007 season.
 
Bradley (5-4-3, 0-4-0 MVC) hosts Omaha Tuesday night before it travels to Des Moines. The Braves are vying for their first league win when they take the pitch Saturday. Bradley is 0-4-1 in its last five matches with conference losses to Central Arkansas, Loyola, Missouri State and Valparaiso. Gerit Wintermeyer leads the team with five goals.
 
Following this week, Drake welcomes Missouri State Oct. 27 for its final home match of the 2018 season. Prior to the 7 p.m. match with the Bears, the Bulldogs will host a Senior Day Ceremony.