Three shutouts. Three wins.

For the second straight year the NIU men’s soccer team dropped Wisconsin 1-0.

Junior Kevin Woerner of NIU (6-2-1) dropped a pass to sophomore Chris Rufa. The defender drilled a shot from 25-yards out for the lone goal of the game.

The goal against the Badgers (4-5) was Rufa’s first as a Huskie. The Downers Grove native also has two assists on the season.

“It was a very good combination play,” NIU coach Steve Simmons said. “Kevin laid it back and Chris made a very nice shot.”

Junior goalkeeper Steve Goletz earned his third consecutive shutout, and fourth on the season. Goletz is 3-0 after returning from a concussion suffered in NIU’s 3-2 win at Valparaiso.

“Steve has played with extreme confidence,” Simmons said. “The guys in front of him did very well in the back. [Senior] Paul Gabel showed great leadership and [sophomore] Steve Algozino was right there with him.”

The NSCAA/Adidas rankings have NIU at No. 5 in the Midwest region. The Huskies had occupied the No. 6 spot before hitting a two-game skid against Northwestern and Detroit-Mercy.

Simmons said the big difference between NIU’s two game losing streak and winning its last three is team trust.

“The guys are committed to working for each other,” Simmons said. “That’s the common denominator.”

The Huskies also welcomed back sophomore Curt Zastrow. Last fall’s Freshman All-American has missed NIU’s last two games with a severe ankle sprain. The North Freedom, Wisc. native led NIU with eight goals last season.

Zastrow did well for his first game back, Simmons said. The All-MAC selection played limited minutes, but the third-year coach said he’s not in match shape yet.

Simmons’ teams are now 2-1 all-time against the Badgers. In the coach’s first season, NIU lost 1-0, but have taken the last two meetings by the same score. The Huskies also beat UW 3-2 in 2001 under former coach Willy Roy.

“Wisconsin is just a very good team,” Simmons said. “After losing their last two games and then having to host us at home, they had a real big chip on their shoulder. To go into a Big Ten school and get a result like this is tremendous.”

NIU is now 4-0-1 on the road this season and have two games remaining on their current four game road trip.

The Huskies play at Eastern Illinois Sunday and then travel to Bowling Green on Oct. 7 before hosting Loyola-Chicago two days later.

“On the heels of our win over No. 26 St. Louis, it’s good to get this win,” Simmons said. “Everybody wanted to see if we were going to take a dip and we didn’t.”

With its win against the Badgers, NIU is 1-1 against Big Ten opponents this fall. Its other loss was a 1-0 setback on Sept. 16 to Northwestern in the first game of its adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational

But for now, the Huskies are just worried about getting back home for the night. The team left Madison, Wisc. at 9:30 p.m. after a 7 p.m. start. Simmons said the team will be rolling into DeKalb a little after 11:00 p.m.

“Yes, everybody will be in class tomorrow,” Simmons said.