Oct. 13, 2006
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Sunday, October 15 -- 2 p.m.
Northwestern (9-5, 1-3)
vs. Michigan (5-7-3, 0-1-2)
Thomas Athletic Complex
Evanston, Ill.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will attempt to snap a two-game losing skid at 2 p.m. this Sunday when they welcome the Michigan Wolverines to the Thomas Athletic Complex. The 'Cats are coming off consecutive one-goal defeats, both to ranked teams on the road, while Michigan enters Sunday winless in their last six games.
The Wildcats have won two of the last three against the Wolverines, winning both matches in 2004 before UM took home the narrow 1-0 decision last season in Ann Arbor. NU's last victory over UM was at the 2004 Big Ten Championships when NU posted a 5-0 shutout of the Wolverines in the semifinals -- in Ann Arbor.
The Wildcats have been playing some very good soccer during their so-called "slump." Their last two defeats were by one goal to top 20 teams in No. 14 Indiana and No. 17 UIC -- both of which were on the road and games that could have easily went the other direction for NU. Despite the two straight shutouts, head coach Tim Lenahan and the Wildcats remain optimistic and are gunning to end the regular-season on a high note.
"We have played very well as of late and are just waiting to bust out on the goal scoring end," Lenahan said. "Michigan has a good team and have played some very good teams this year with good results against Indiana and Kentucky. It is our parents weekend and I am looking forward to a great crowd and a great soccer match."
A road contest at Michigan State next Sunday closes out the Big Ten portion of the schedule before facing Northern Illinois at home Friday, Oct. 27. NU then takes aim at the 2006 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio Nov. 2-5.
Michigan is 5-7-3 on the season with a 0-1-2 mark in league play. They are in the midst of a six-match winless streak, including a 1-0 loss to UW-Milwaukee on Friday night and a 1-1 tie against Michigan State in its last Big Ten game last Sunday. Perica Marosevic is UM's scoring leader with 12 points (5g, 2a) and two game-winning goals. Michael Holody and Mauro Fuzetti both have seven points each. In goal, Patrick Sperry has 52 saves in goal, good for third in the Big Ten entering the week. He has allowed 20 goals in 15 games. The Wolverines are coached by Steve Burns who is in his seventh season.
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 33-18-4 record over the last two-plus years, a .636 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.
Twenty goals have been scored by Northwestern this year, with 16 of those coming in the second half. On a more impressive note, NU is 8-2 this season when holding opponents under two goals, 7-0 when scoring multiple goals and 5-0 when scoring first.
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 hit the road next Sunday when they travel to East Lansing, Mich. to do battle with the Spartans. Game time is 1 p.m.
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