Northwestern University Athletics
The 2002 Men's Soccer Outlook
8/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2002
Tim Lenahan may be entering his second season as head coach at Northwestern, but as far as he is concerned, the 2002 campaign is "phase one" in his goal toward "building something special" with the Wildcats.
"Last year was the end of the old phase," Lenahan said. "This year is the first part of the new phase. Now we are trying to get players here not only for academics, but also with the goal in mind of building this program."
With his first full recruiting period, Lenahan and his NU staff have done just that after bringing in 13 freshmen and a senior transfer who College Soccer News rated the 28th best class nationally.
"It is an exciting time to be a part of Northwestern soccer," Lenahan said. "We have a bunch of new players in the mix that we are excited about, and I expect them all to come in and contribute this year in some way."
The team will get their first opportunity to do so Friday at 7 p.m. at Bradley. The Braves are coming off of a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference last season. Like Northwestern, Bradley has a roster stacked with underclassmen this year, including 12 true freshmen, but Lenahan said he expects a strong Bradley team to show up.
"We've got our hands full with Bradley," Lenahan said. "They have a lot of speed, and a lot of good players. We just want to work on getting our guys to come together, and the rest will fall into place."
With the addition of eight defenders, Lenahan has made it clear his focus for now is on the backfield. Jaro Pylypczak and Dave Vargas fared well in summer camp, and Lenahan expects both players to make quick contributions. Pylypczak comes from a strong soccer background, having played in the Chicago Sockers club program for three years, while Vargas' suburban Cleveland club team won seven state championships.
"Summer camp was certainly good for us," Lenahan said. "It gave our young guys a chance to get acclimated, get used to the school. We've really made some good progress."
The Wildcats also bolstered their goalkeeper position in the offseason, adding J.D. Martin, a senior transfer from Rutgers University.
Martin brings experience to a goalkeeping corps that features two first-year players. He had a career 1.26 goals against average in three seasons with the Scarlet Knights, and last year he posted a 0.96 GAA in leading Rutgers to a 15-7-3 mark and the third round of the NCAA Championships.
"J.D. brings a lot to the team because he has been in a winning program," Lenahan said. "If we have any problems defensively, we hope that J.D. can help pick the guys up."
Last season, NU cut the number of goals allowed from 55 in 2000 to 36, and Lenahan said he expects continued improvement in that area after bringing in some talented freshman.
Of the newcomers in the midfield, Kevin Earnest and Sammy Semwangu are expected to make the quickest transition to the college game. Earnest led the Chicago Magic Soccer to the 2001 state championship, while Semwangu played in the U.S. National Team Pool in 1999.
Twelve letterwinners return to the program, including eight starters. Seniors Paul Elkins and Steve Jedlinski will share captain duties with Martin. Jedlinski notched a team-high six assists from the backfield in 2001, while Elkins' only shot on goal found the back of the net.
Sophomores Matt Pyzyk and Victor Boni will complement Jedlinski on the back line. As a freshman, Pyzyk appeared in all 17 games, starting 16, while Boni returns as the 'Cats leading goal-scorer from a year ago, including the game-winner in the season finale against Valparaiso. Seniors Doug Gibson, David DeHorn and Justin Lesch round out the defense.
Jeremy Cook, a walk-on before the 2001 year, begins his junior season after starting a team-high 16 games for Northwestern at midfield. Cook fired nine shots and scored one goal last season. Sophomore Derek Schneider also put in a goal in 2001 and made 12 starts.
At the forward position, NU returns only three players. Though he made only four starts, junior Matt Miclea leads the group, he took seven shots and scored one goal last season.
Freshman Tito Lara also brings promise to the front line. He is coming off of a summer during which he led his Chicago Magic club team to the under-17 final at the Snickers Cup national club championships.
As usual, the Wildcats will face stiff competition from their Big Ten counterparts, which include national powers Indiana, Penn State and Ohio State.
Besides the tough conference slate, NU will face traditional power Illinois-Chicago. Another highlight will occur when the 'Cats make a trip to Easton, Penn., for the Lafayette College Tournament, where Lenahan coached before coming to NU.
Though the starting lineup remains in limbo with an inexperienced squad, Lenahan expects big returns this fall.
"I'm looking for us to be a good team," Lenahan said. "We'll probably take some knocks early because of a relative lack of experience, but by the time Big Ten play rolls around I think we'll be pretty good."
Pretty good now and in the future as Lenahan is counting on this year's class to get the ball rolling within the soccer program.
"Our success as a team and as a program depends on the development of the younger guys into college soccer players," Lenahan said. "That is what is going to determine our success now and in the long run."
