By Bobby Narang
The Northern Illinois University (NIU) football team was dealt another blow for the Fall season last week. The Huskies were scheduled to open the season against Rhode Island September 5 at Huskie Stadium, but the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced it was suspending all league football games for the Fall due to COVID-19.
Earlier this month, the Huskies had their two marquee road games, Maryland and Iowa, canceled when the Big Ten Conference canceled all non-conference games due to the pandemic.
The Huskies revealed their October 24 game against Brigham Young University would be played at Huskie Stadium October 24.
In addition, the Mid-American Conference pushed back the start of the Fall sports season to September 3. All six sports, volleyball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s cross country, will start their respective seasons later than usual.
Chicagoland girls teams play soccer:
Several Chicagoland high school teams finally played soccer in middle of this month, with the two-day PepsiCo Showdown Girls Community Showcase at Olympic Park in Schaumburg. The non-Illinois High School Association (IHSA) event, included teams which represented schools such as Metea Valley in Aurora, West Chicago, Elgin, and in Plainfield. The popular girls tournament was canceled in the Spring, but numerous high school teams got together for the two-day tournament that featured a DJ, free Pepsi products, and eight fields of action.
Romeoville won both of its games, to earn the prize of the Pepsi Spray, where each player gets a two-liter and the team sprays each other in celebration. Romeoville senior forward Valeria Valles said it was a memorable weekend to return to the field, plus to win both of their games.
“It feel so great because we won last year, but it feels great being as senior knowing your team won the last game we had together,” Valles said. “It’s such an amazing feeling. I made sure as a leader to make sure the girls were ready for this tournament. It feels amazing that I got two championships in PepsiCo.
Romeoville midfielder Yamilet Perez said she was happy to see her teammates, and win two matches.
“It’s an amazing feeling, just winning this back-to-back,” Perez said. “It’s unbelievable. We played great as a team, communicated and were organized. It’s pretty unbelievable to be able to play. Our season got canceled, so do our hopes to play again until the PepsiCo. We are blessed to get this opportunity to play.”