DEKALB, Ill. - Western Illinois men's soccer battled Northern Illinois to a 0-0 draw on Saturday (Aug. 16) in the first of two exhibitions for the Fighting Leathernecks this preseason. 

In a scoreless game, the Purple and Gold took nine shots to the Huskies 11. Senior goalkeeper, Yves Dietrich was called upon to make two saves while Western was able to put three shots on goal. 

"It was a good start for us defensively. We kept them in front of us for most of the match," said head coach Eric Johnson. "We had good effort from everyone and were better in the second half on the offensive side."

Western Illinois will take the next week to prepare for their preseason home opener against Loyola-Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 23 in Macomb. The exhibition will be the Leathernecks final preperation for the regular season which opens Aug. 29 against UNLV at the 2014 Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic hosted by Bradley.

Make sure to follow the men's soccer team on twitter @WIUMensSoccer for updates throughout the season.