Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Earns First Berth in NCAA Tournament
11/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 15, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- During the 2000 season, Northwestern did not win a single match. Enter head coach Tim Lenahan, who in his four seasons has masterminded a stunning turnaround culminating Monday afternoon with the Wildcats first-ever bid into the NCAA Tournament.
NU will host its debut in the 48-team field at 1:30 p.m. Friday against Western Illinois. The winner of that match will move on to face No. 14 seed Creighton in Omaha, Neb. The top 16 teams in the tournament received seeds.
"I am so happy for our guys," Lenahan said. "They deserved it and they earned it. I'm happy for our two seniors who went through a one-win season in 2001. I'm happy for our other guys who believed in our dream. We sold them that someday this would be possible and now here we are."
Northwestern (14-5-2) finished the regular season in third place in the Big Ten, then defeated Penn State and Michigan to reach the championship match of the conference tournament. The Big Ten leads all conferences with six bids into the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have already faced the Leathernecks once this season, winning a 3-0 decision in Evanston on October 10. Western Illinois (11-5-1) earned the Mid-Continent Conference's automatic bid by defeating Oral Roberts, 4-0, to win its conference championship. It will also be making its first tournament appearance.
"Western Illinois is a very good team that gave us a great game the first time," Lenahan said. "We got two late goals that made the score not indicative of the kind of game it was. We have to make sure we are playing our best soccer because we expect a battle."
The Wildcats are 6-3-1 this season against teams in the tournament field, including a 2-0-1 mark against the seeded schools. In those ten matches, Northwestern has outscored its opponents 19-6.
Northwestern's 14 wins ties the school record and is the most-ever victories over Division I opponents in school history. The Wildcats' three Big Ten regular season wins this season matches their combined total coming into this season since 1991.
For more information on the NCAA Tournament first round including ticket information, please continue to monitor NUsports.com.
