The Wisconsin men’s soccer team moved up to No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches poll on Tuesday.
The ranking is the highest of any UW men’s soccer team since 1995, the season Wisconsin beat Duke in the NCAA title game.
Wisconsin recently reached No. 10 in the national rankings, another milestone it hadn’t reached in seven seasons.
UW currently sits at 5-0-0 after beating Marist, Drexel, UIC, Marquette and No. 16 Kentucky. With the help of freshman superstar Dean Boltz, head coach Neil Jones has led his group to its best start since 2001.
Boltz, a native of Palatine, Ill., leads UW in scoring with seven goals and 17 points in five appearances. Midfielder Trip Fleming has 11 points in 443 total minutes played so far.
The buzz around this iteration of the Badgers’ on-field squad is considerable. Wisconsin has conceded just two goals in five games and scored 16, a whopping 14-point margin heading into its season finale against a series of conference opponents.
The Badgers will face the unranked Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Md., on Sept. 13. Wisconsin will return home to face the No. 6-ranked UCLA Bruins in what is shaping up to be the young team’s toughest game yet.
