After 43 years, the NIU men’s rugby program is about to go somewhere it has never gone before: the Division II Collegiate Rugby National Tournament.

The Huskies (9-0) earned the trip with a 35-10 victory over the Ohio Bobcats (7-1-1) in the Midwest Regional Semifinal Saturday afternoon in Cottage Grove, Wis.

NIU is going to Nationals because it is one of the top two teams in the region.

Huskies fly half Alex Binetti said a couple things stood out in his mind that were key reasons for the victory over Ohio.

“I’d definitely say our fitness level carried us over them,” Binetti said. “Once they started to get tired, we were able to get pretty strong.”

Binetti said NIU going to nationals is a special achievement.

“It means a lot to me personally,” Binetti said. “I know we got a couple guys who have been here with me all four years.”

No man of the match honor was given following the victory. Rugby Vice President Ryan Dertinger explained why this was the case.

“When we get to this level, we’re here to play and we’re here to be a team,” Dertinger said.

Despite the fact that both teams have qualified for nationals, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds from the Midwest region were on the line when NIU and Wisconsin Whitewater met Sunday afternoon.

The Huskies (9-1) suffered their first loss of the season 31-18 against the WarHawks (10-0).

Binetti said there was one key reason why the Huskies no longer have a zero in the loss column.

“Offensive lapses throughout the game were definitely the key factor in our loss,” Binetti said, “Otherwise, I thought we matched up well against them. We just had far too many mental lapses throughout the game.”

Binetti said NIU won’t let its first loss affect it heading in to training for nationals.

“You never like to lose, but we’re going to look past that, have a short memory, and then get into winter [and] start training hard, keep the fitness level up [and] keep working,” Binetti said, “You know you can’t let that loss affect you.”