Oct. 10, 2006
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern (9-4, 1-3) will be looking for a big road win on Wednesday night when they travel into the city of Chicago to do battle with No. 17 UIC at Flames Field. The Wildcats, who need another big win to help their NCAA chances, are coming off a narrow 1-0 defeat at No. 14 Indiana Saturday night. UIC (9-1-2, 3-0) has just one loss on the season and has won five of their last six games. They are ranked 17th nationally and third in the Great Lakes region poll entering the week.
The Wildcats have won the last two with the Flames, including last season's 2-0 win in Evanston in heavy rain and wind. John Carlstedt and Brad North each tallied goals in the victory.
"UIC is having a great year," head coach Tim Lenahan said. "Their coaches, John Trask and Sean Phillips, came here from Indiana and have brought a winning mentality to their program. We have had a great week of practice and are really looking to what amounts to be a pretty good Chicago derby and important Great Lakes region game. It should be a fun game to be a part of Wednesday."
Northwestern is in the midst of a tough road stretch in which three of four are away from Evanston. After Saturday's road loss to IU, Northwestern now does battle with cross-town rival UIC in Chicago on Wednesday. After that a home date with Michigan Oct. 15 breaks up the bus trips for a weekend before the final Big Ten match in East Lansing, Mich. against the Spartans Oct. 22. The Wildcats round out the regular-season at home against Northern Illinois Friday, Oct. 27.
The 17th-ranked Flames are enjoying a very solid season with a 9-1-2 record entering Wednesday night's contest. The Flames feature five players with three or more goals, led by Tonci Skroce (6g, 3a) and Eric Cervantes (5g, 1a). They feature one of the best defenses in the nation and have outscored the opposition 21-4 on the year. The are ranked first nationally in team goals-against-average (0.33) and third in shot-save percentage (.913). Individually, goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja is third in the nation in goals-against-average (.342) and first in save percentage (.907). They have two wins over top 25 teams in No. 25 Saint Louis and No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, with their only defeat coming at the hands of Wisconsin on the road Sept. 28. UIC is led by John Trask who is in his second season as head coach.
Midfielder Will Nicholas sustained a season-ending knee injury in the win over Loyola Sept. 27 and will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee on Oct. 3. This is Nicholas' third ACL injury in addition to a broken leg sustained his sophomore season in 2004 against Evansville. He suffered his first ACL tear to his left knee during his senior year at Parkland High School in Orefield, Pa. After the broken leg in 2004, his past two seasons have been cut short with ACL injuries to his right knee on both occasions.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tim Lenahan, the Northwestern's men's soccer program is on the rise. The Wildcats are 9-4 this season, giving Lenahan a combined 33-17-4 record over the last two-plus years, a .648 winning percentage. Northwestern is coming off two of the most successful seasons in its history, going a program-best 15-6-2 in 2004 -- which included the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament -- before turning in another winning season last year (9-7-2) despite a lot of youth and injuries. This year the Wildcats started off 7-1 -- the best start in program history and leaped to No. 14 in the national rankings. It was the highest ranking in program history which came off the heels of a 3-1 win over Ohio State whom the 'Cats had not defeated in 13 years prior.
(Big Ten stats as of Oct. 10) The Wildcats are among the leaders in several Big Ten statistical categories. Northwestern leads the conference in points (62), goals (20), goals per game (1.54), assists (22) and assists per game (1.69) and are second with 53 saves. Individually, Carl Pett leads the conference in assists (6) and assists per game (0.50) while Gerardo Alvarez is seventh in both categories, respectively, with three assists. Junior David Roth is tied for first with three game-winning goals and six total goals and is second in points (16), points per game (1.33) and goals per game (0.46). Senior Brad North is sixth in the league in goals (4), seventh in goals per game (0.31) and eighth points per game (0.77).
Junior midfielder David Roth is having an MVP caliber season for Northwestern. The St. Louis native leads the Wildcats with six goals and 16 total points and was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 11. It was the first honor of Roth's career and the first for the Wildcats this season. Roth scored three goals to help the Wildcats go 2-0 and clinch the championship of the Adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational in Sept. He tallied both Northwestern goals in the 2-0 win over Bradley before scoring his third goal of the weekend against Drake in the second half to tie the game at 1-1. Roth also scored the game-winner in the win over Ohio State Sept. 17 -- the first win over the Buckeyes in 13 years. He has three game-winners in all.
Sophomore midfielder Carl Pett leads Northwestern and the Big Ten in assists this season with six and assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the win over Ohio State on Sept. 17. He also assisted on the game-winning goal in the win over Loyola Sept. 27. The red-shirt freshman is a prime candidate for all-Big Ten freshman team honors this season.
The Wildcats are back home for their final Big Ten home game of the season when they welcome the Wolverines of Michigan at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.
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