Northwestern University Athletics
Soccer Sunday Will Be Full of Emotion at NU
10/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 9, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - One would be hard-pressed to go through the history books and find a more compelling and emotional day of soccer at Northwestern than what will occur Sunday at the Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex.
The Wildcats host a Sunday Soccer Doubleheader, with the women kicking things off against No. 11 Ohio State at 12:30 p.m. but preceding that by honoring seniors Molly Greene, Aileen Guiney and Kristen Pearce before their final home game.
Following that, Northwestern hosts Indiana in what is sure to be another emotional contest, as legendary Hoosiers coach Jerry Yeagley makes his final appearance on Chicago's North Shore.
Indiana has long been one of the premier college men's soccer programs in the country, all thanks to Yeagley, and the Hoosiers' biennial appearance at Northwestern's lakeside field never fails to bring the IU faithful out in full (a group enhanced by the Hoosiers' usual stable of Chicago-area players). This year's match will be a poignant way for those fans to say farewell to the man who has guided the Hoosiers since they became a varsity program in 1973.
Need proof of Yeagley's prowess? A few statistics ...
* 530 career wins ranks him second all-time at the NCAA Division 1 level
* All-time winning percentage of .823 (.741 in the NCAA Tournament)
* Five-time NSCAA National Coach of the Year and seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year
* Five NCAA national titles and 15 NCAA College Cup (final four) appearances
* 27 NCAA Tournament appearances
* Nine Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles
* Eight IU players have earned National Player of the Year honors
* 47 IU players have earned All-America honors
"Coach Yeagley has just set the bar so high," said NU head coach Tim Lenahan. "What he has created at Indiana is truly the model that the rest of us are trying to follow. The kids at Indiana know that the name on the front of their jersey is so much bigger than the name on the back. Their players are proud to be a part of a program like that, and that attitude is what we are tying to emulate here."
IU has struggled in Yeagley's final season; facing a brutal early schedule, the Hoosiers enter the weekend with a 3-3-4 record. By contrast, the still-youthful Northwestern team they meet Sunday just might be the best Wildcat group Yeagley has ever faced -- after a 0-2-3 start to the season, NU is 5-1-1 in its last seven matches including a 2-0 decision Wednesday over Loyola.
Although Lenahan will be matching wits with Yeagley for just the third time since arriving at NU, he expressed special feelings for the outgoing IU mentor.
"I will never forget when we got our first win against Valparaiso in 2001 -- we were playing a make-up game that day -- it was also the same day that Indiana won the Big Ten championship," said Lenahan. "The very first phone call I received after our win was from Coach Yeagley. The guy had just won another championship and he made sure he called to congratulate me on our first win. He is as classy a guy as you will ever find."
The emotion will not be limited to the men's match. The Northwestern women (6-5-0, 2-3-0 Big Ten) kick off the day by meeting the 11th-ranked team in the nation, Ohio State (8-1-2, 2-1-2 Big Ten) in a conference matchup. The Wildcats are coming off a pair of 2-1 losses at Minnesota and Wisconsin, but are 5-1 at home this season and looking to make some noise in the conference on a weekend in which two ranked teams come to the Thomas Complex -- five-time defending champion Penn State, ranked 14th nationally, is in town Friday.
A quick look at the schedule makes it hard to believe Sunday will be NU's Senior Day -- after all, five more regular-season matches are still left to play afterward. However, NU women's soccer coach Jenny Haigh is sure some tears will be shed as Greene, Guiney and Pearce are recognized by their teammates; all three have been mainstays in the lineup for all four of their years, and have led this team as captains in 2003.
"Sunday will be a really emotional day at both matches," said Haigh. "Even though we still have a lot of matches still to play, I think the pregame ceremonies for us will be emotional as we recognize and honor three women who have done great, great things for our program. We will face the reality that they will not be here much longer; then, when the match starts, I know I will immediately go into denial."
