Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Soccer Ready to Kick Off 2001 Season
8/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 30, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - While new Northwestern men's soccer coach Tim Lenahan makes his Wildcats' debut in front of the local faithful at Lakeside Field this weekend, new women's soccer coach Jenny Haigh makes her head coaching debut away -- far, far away.
"I am excited," she said prior to the team's departure for Logan, Utah, the home of Utah State. "I feel like we've had a good preseason, and we want to see how we stack up against quality competition. We are looking at this weekend as a good opportunity to set the tone for a great season."
The Wildcats are coming off a season where injuries took their toll. Overall, NU went 3-12-1 a year ago, including 2-7-1 in the Big Ten. However, all seven conference losses were by a goal, suggesting that the road back to respectability is not as far as it may look.
Northwestern opens the 2001 season Friday afternoon with Utah State, facing a team that suffered a similar fate last year record-wise. The Aggies went 5-12 last year, including 3-5 in the Big West Conference. Like the Wildcats, they enter 2001 under the direction of a new coach, Jen Kennedy Croft.
"I see a lot of similarities between Utah State and us," said Haigh of her first opponent. "Both teams were probably a little better than their records indicated last year, and they will be looking to come out of the gate flying like we are. The game should be a real battle."
On Monday, the Wildcats face one of their biggest tests of the season when they engage Washington in a neutral-site battle. The Huskies came out of nowhere last year to finish 17-3-1, then advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to perennial power Portland. Along the way, Washington shut out 10 opponents. As a result, they enter the 2001 season ranked seventh in the National Soccer Coaches Association of the America (NSCAA)/adidas national poll.
"The Washington match will tell us a lot about ourselves," said Haigh. "However, I see this as a great opportunity for us to get some recognition right away. The goal for us is to compete with everybody we play this season, and certainly if we can compete with Washington we will be in good shape with regard to the rest of our schedule."
