Another nationally ranked opponent lies ahead of the NIU men’s soccer team.

For the second time this year, the Huskies (7-2-4) will take on the No. 2 team in the nation. After defeating SMU earlier this season, NIU will go for another big win against the current No. 2 Northwestern (10-0-2) tonight at 7 p.m. in Evanston, IL.

NIU head coach Steve Simmons said the team is excited and ready to take on another No. 2 ranked team in the Wildcats.

“That’s why we play the games we play,” he said about scheduling consistently good teams.

“We’ve seen [Northwestern] play a couple times, and they’ve seen us a couple times. We both participated in one another’s tournaments, and now we get to see each other on the field rather than from on the sidelines.”

The Huskies are coming off a big Senior Day win, where defender Drew Jeskey netted a game-winning double-overtime goal to put the Huskies up 2-1 over Hartwick.

In the match, Brad Horton added onto his team-leading four goals, now making it five in the season. The freshman was the man of the match against then No. 2 SMU earlier this season when he scored in overtime to give his team a 1-0 win over the Mustangs. Horton hadn’t scored since then, until capitalizing on a penalty kick over the weekend.

Coming into tonight’s match-up, 12 Huskies have found themselves with at least one goal on the season. Simmons hopes to see more players step up and add goals next to their names but said NIU will have to maintain a first-to-the-ball mentality in order to see that happen.

“Being first to the ball is going to be paramount in getting a win,” Simmons said. “Northwestern is the most organized team we play in the country.”

The Wildcats have lived up to Simmons’ explanation, as they have yet to lose this year. The No. 2 team boasts a top goalkeeper in Misha Rosenthal. The junior has allowed three goals in 12 games and owns a .912 save percentage. Rosenthal also has nine shutouts on the season.

However, that is not going to stop Simmons and the Huskies.

“Keeping a constant first-to-the-ball mentality usually helps teams stay in the game against outstanding opponents,” Simmons said. “But sometimes it is used to push a team over the top to win. Hopefully this will be the case for our guys.”

Northwestern comes into the contest with 20 goals in 120 shots. Wildcat Matt Eliason owns more than 50 percent of the teams’ goals as the sophomore leads his team with 11. The second leading scorer has tallied three goals in comparison.