The men’s soccer team has been ranked No. 24 nationally by the Top Drawer Soccer website, the first time they’ve been ranked nationally since 2012. The NCAA website ranked NIU No.13 nationally under its Rating Percentage Index rankings.

“I woke up to a text from another coach in the Eastern Time Zone saying congratulations,” Head Coach Ryan Swan said. “That’s how I found out about it; I followed up by checking on it. I spoke to the guys about it after the Eastern [Illinois University] game, that it was a possibility we would receive a regional ranking and perhaps even receive votes for a national ranking.”

The ranking came during a four-game winning streak and three-game shutout streak for the Huskies; they have since won another game, beating the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Tuesday. The team is 7-2-0 through nine games, allowing only eight goals. Five of its seven wins have been shutouts.

“It’s a nice acknowledgement of what we’ve achieved so far,” Swan said. “I think it’s important that we stay grounded and make sure we’re working on the things that got us here.”

NIU has scored the first goal in all eight games they’ve played and have a plus-six goal differential.

The Huskies have yet to play a game against a conference opponent; they open conference play Oct. 6 against the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars.

The team still has upside; five regular players to crack the lineup are first years. Several of them are starters and impact players, like the Markanich brothers and midfielder Lawrence Kwazema.

Only a handful of seniors, like midfielder Kevin Rodriguez, hold down starting positions. Meanwhile, players like junior forward Jan Maertins and sophomore midfielder Alex Welch tackle increasingly large roles as starters.

As good as this team has been, they could merely be scratching the surface of their potential.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve received a national ranking, so to get it now with such a young squad will hopefully give them an expectation, and a standard to uphold for this year and future years,” Swan said.

The Huskies travel to the west coast to take on No. 13 ranked University of Portland Pilots 7 p.m. Friday in a showdown between two powerhouses.