PEORIA | Following a not-so-ideal start, the NIU men’s soccer team has reeled off four wins in a row.

The Huskies defeated Bradley in Peoria 2-0 on Friday for their second straight shutout.

“I’d say we’re in a better place than we were two weeks ago, that’s for sure,” said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. “The guys are back to a point where they’re working hard. We have more of our key players in better form than they were a couple weeks ago, and hopefully we’re in a good position to do pretty well on Wednesday.”

NIU’s (4-2-1) work rate, will and consistency was at question following losses to Washington and Oregon State, but the team looks to be headed in the right direction during the lead up to the start of conference play.

As the Huskies are climbing the ladder, Bradley (3-4-1) fell for its third straight loss.

“Bradley is a really difficult team to play against,” Luzzi said. “They’re very athletic, and they just kind of pound the ball down your throat. Our guys did a really good job to match their intensity, but when we had chances to play a bit of soccer, we played pretty well and we put some very good sequences together.”

Freshman striker James Stevenson put in his second and third goals of the season in a breakout performance. In the seventh minute, Stevenson grabbed the lead for the Huskies after freshman midfielder Mino Kayser hit the crossbar and the Scotsman tapped in the rebound.

Stevenson added another for NIU in the 85th minute when he scored on a breakaway after beating the keeper.

“I think he just needed a few starts and a little confidence and I knew he was going to get going; I think we all did because some of the stuff we saw from him before the season started,” said senior defender Kyle Knotek. “A lot of us players were just waiting for him to kind of have his breakout because he’s definitely a player with next level potential and you can already tell in his freshman year.”

NIU sophomore keeper Jordan Godsey came up big again for the Huskies as he stopped five shots in his second shutout of the season.