Oct. 31, 2006
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Thursday, Nov. 2 -- 9:30 a.m. CT
Northwestern (11-6) vs. Penn State (6-10-2)
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The fifth-seed Northwestern Wildcats begin their run toward a Big Ten championship this Thursday when they meet fourth-seed Penn State in the first game of the 2006 Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Game time is 9:30 a.m. CT and can be followed online at www.bigten.org. The winner will face top-seed Indiana at 4 p.m. CT Friday.
Northwestern dropped a 2-1 decision to Penn State in Evanston this season in a game the Wildcats could have easily won. Penn State was outshot by Northwestern 17-6 in the second half and 24-12 for the game. The Wildcats had multiple looks at the goal but didn't get one by PSU keeper Conrad Taylor, who had eight saves on the day, until late in the game.
The Wildcats are 3-5 in the Big Ten Tournament in the coach Lenahan era and advanced all the way to the championship game two years ago (2004), only to fall to 1-0 to Michigan State. That same year the Wildcats defeated Penn State in the opening round 1-0 in overtime.
Tournament Schedule: Times Eastern
Game 1: -- Thursday, Nov. 2 -- #4 Penn State vs. #5 Northwestern -- 10:30 a.m.
Game 2: -- Thursday, Nov. 2 -- #3 Wisconsin vs. #6 Michigan -- 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: -- Thursday, Nov. 2 -- #2 Ohio State vs. #7 Michigan State -- 4:30 p.m.
Game 4: -- Friday, Nov. 3 -- #1 Indiana vs. Winner Game 1 -- 5 p.m.
Game 5: -- Friday, Nov. 3 -- Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 -- 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: -- Sunday, Nov. 5 -- Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 -- Noon
All tournament matches will be played at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, located on Fred Taylor Drive north of the Jerome Schottenstein Center. All-session passes $15 adults, $10 students. Single session passes $10 adults, $5 students, $4 groups of 10 or more in advance. Group rates not available for all-session passes. Call 1-800-GO-BUCKS or visit ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
"Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium is one of the best soccer complexes in the country," Lenahan said, "so we are excited about heading to Columbus for the Big Ten Tournament. If we are to get to the finals we would need to beat the defending Big Ten Champs, Penn State, and current regular-season champs, Indiana. And I think our guys would have it no other way. Penn State has played by far the No. 1 schedule in the country and are the only Big Ten team to defeat Indiana this year. They are still the champion until someone knocks them off. I believe we have been playing our best soccer down the stretch and against Northern Illinois we finally got a quality result to match our play. We are looking forward to a great game and a great Big Ten Tournament."
This year's senior class enters Thursday's match attempting to set the all-time mark for the winningest senior class in the program's history. They are already the winningest class since Big Ten play started in 1991. This year's class has 42 headed into the Big Ten Tournament -- tied with the 1988 seniors went out with 42 combined wins from 1985-88.
The Nittany Lions, the defending Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions, finished the regular-season with a record of 6-10-2 with a 3-3 mark in league play. They have been to the NCAA Championship four of the past five years, advancing to the second round in 2005. The Lions have played arguably the toughest schedule in the nation. They are led this season by a pair of returning all-Big Ten selections in senior forward Simon Omekanda (4g, 4a) and senior defender Markku Viitanen. Penn State is coached by Barry Gorman, the all-time winningest coach at Penn State and the 2005 Big Ten Coach of the Year, who is in his 19th year.
Penn State leads the all-time series 19-1-1, with NU's lone win coming in the 2004 season at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Brad North, who scored the decisive goal in Friday's regular-season finale, was named this week's Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week in recognition of his play in the win over No. 24 Northern Illinois last Friday. North's goal came in dramatic fashion. With the final minutes of double-overtime ticking away, North knocked in a pass from teammate Geoff Fallon into the left side of the net to give the Wildcats the 1-0 victory on senior day -- with 1:09 left on the clock. It was the second game-winner of the season for North and the 10th of his career. North is tied for second on Northwestern's all-time list with 25 goals and is tied for fourth with 58 career points. He is second on the team this season in both goals (6) and points (14) and ranks among the Big Ten leaders in both categories as well. The weekly honor is the second of the season for North and the third of his career.
RPI REPORT: The Wildcats are ranked No. 28 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) released by the NCAA on Oct. 24. Northwestern is the third-highest Big Ten team in the standings behind Indiana (9) and Penn State (27). After a 1-0 win over No. 24 NIU, a good run in the Big Ten Tournament should be enough to get the Wildcats into this year's NCAA Tournament.
Midfielder Carl Pett leads Northwestern and the Big Ten in assists this season with eight and is ranked 15th nationally as of Oct. 23. The red shirt freshman is a prime candidate for all-Big Ten freshman honors. When Pett is on his game, the Wildcats win -- NU is a perfect 6-0 when Pett records at least one assist. He assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the huge win over Ohio State on Sept. 17, had two assists in the win over Michigan Oct. 15 and also assisted on the game-winning goal in the win over Loyola Sept. 27. He scored his lone goal in the win over Drake at the Northern Illinois Tournament. He is third on the team with 10 points.
Junior midfielder David Roth is having an MVP caliber season for Northwestern. The St. Louis native leads the Wildcats with seven goals and 18 total points and was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 11. Roth scored three goals to help the Wildcats go 2-0 and clinch the championship of the Adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational in September. 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. Roth also scored the game-winner in the win over Ohio State Sept. 17 -- the first win over the Buckeyes in 13 years. He then had one goal and one assist in the 4-2 win over Valparaiso Oct. 4. The Wildcats are 8-1 this season when he records at least one point in goal or assist fashion.
(Big Ten stats as of Oct. 31) The Wildcats are among the leaders in several Big Ten statistical categories. Northwestern leads the Big Ten in assists per game (1.53), is second in goals per game (1.41) and third in points per game (4.35) and goals allowed per game (0.94). Individually, Carl Pett leads the conference in assists (8) and assists per game (0.50). David Roth is tied for first with three game-winning goals, total goals (7) and is second in points (18) and points per game (1.06). Brad North is tied for fourth with 14 points, third with six goals and fourth with 0.82 points per game.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tim Lenahan, the Northwestern's men's soccer program is on the rise. The Wildcats were 11-6 this season, giving Lenahan a combined 35-19-4 record over the last two-plus years, a .637 winning percentage. Northwestern has had three 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. This year's senior class tied the mark for the winningest class in history with 42.
Senior forward Brad North is second on the team with six goals and two assists for 14 points. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 18 in recognition of his play in the win over Ohio State -- the second for the Wildcats in as many weeks. He also was named to the National Teams of the Week by College Soccer News, SoccerAmerica.com and TopDrawerSoccer.com. A first-team all-Big Ten selection last season, North tallied two goals in Northwestern's 3-1 win over the Buckeyes, helping the Wildcats defeat Ohio State for the first time in 13 years. Down 1-0 at halftime, North tied the game up six minutes into the second half with his second goal of the season. He then added an insurance goal, his third of the year, later in the half to give the 'Cats the 3-1 win, helping Northwestern win its conference opener for the first time in the coach Lenahan era. North also has tallied Big Ten goals against Penn State and Michigan.
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.
Twenty-four (24) goals have been scored by Northwestern this year, with 17 of those coming in the second half. The Wildcats have made a living by saving their best for last with comeback win after win. On a more impressive note, NU is 10-2 this season when holding opponents under two goals, 8-0 when scoring multiple goals and 7-1 when scoring first.
Senior Gerardo Alvarez, hobbled by a foot injury for part of the season, is still searching for his first goal of the season, but has made up for it in other areas with three assists -- good for third on the team. Alvarez, a two-time all-Big Ten selection and the 2003 Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is tied for first on NU's all-time assist list (24), is second in points (72) and tied for fourth with 24 goals. Alvarez took a team-high six shots in the narrow loss to No. 17 UIC Oct. 11.
Freshman Eamon O'Neill registered the first points of his career in the win over UC Irvine on Sept. 4 and later notched the game-winner in the victory over Loyola Sept. 27. The Wilmington, Del. native first assisted on Daniel Chille's second half goal to tie the game and later scored the game-winner unassisted to give the Wildcats the victory. O'Neill later added an assist in the big win over Ohio State Sept. 17. O'Neill has two goals and three assists this season and is fourth on the team with seven points. Chille, who has been out with a hamstring injury of late, has two goals and one dish for five points. Geoff Fallon also has seven points this season (2g, 3a) while Drew Ratner has two goals.
Starting goalkeeper Will Briley is 8-6 this season with 49 saves and five shutouts. Briley shared time in goal last season with Misha Rosenthal and earned all-Big Ten freshman team honors. Briley, a starter in all 16 games, posted a season-high five saves in four different games this season. He has seven career shutouts. Briley has allowed one or fewer goals 11 times this season. In six conference games, he has only given up more than one goal on two occasions -- one a double overtime contest.
Goalkeeper Justin Pines has also played important minutes for the Wildcats in the back-up role and started his first game of the season in the 1-0 double-overtime win over No. 24 NIU last Friday. Pines, who picked up his first win since the 2004 season in the win at UC-Irvine, made four saves and held the Anteaters scoreless as the Wildcats came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit. Pines then played the entire second half in the win over Drake, holding them scoreless as Northwestern again came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit. Pines has played in a total of seven games this year with nine saves and allowing just one goal. With his powerful leg, Pines is usually inserted when the 'Cats are desperately searching for offense. His goalkicks often land near the opposition's box, giving NU more chances to strike.
Freshman Mark Blades has established himself in the Wildcat backline this season and is one of the top freshman defenders, if not the best, in the Big Ten. In the opening weekend of the season, he picked up Lakeside Classic MVP honors as NU defeated Hofstra and Dayton. Blades' quickness, speed and athleticism in the back smothered the opposition's attack throughout both games and has continued that trend throughout the season. A Lakewood, Ohio native, Blades was the 2005 Ohio Player of the Year for Cleveland-St. Ignatius. Blades recorded his first point as a Wildcat Sept. 24 against Penn State when he assisted on Brad North's goal late in the second half. He then tallied his first career goal in the win over Valparaiso Oct. 4.
There were no push-overs on this year's schedule. Twelve of the 17 teams on the regular-season slate finished last season with a winning record, with six of those teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Tim Lenahan's 2006 freshman class was ranked the 21st best recruiting class in the country according to collegesoccernews.com. In addition, two of those incoming freshmen, Eamon O'Neill and Mark Blades, have been named among the "top 100 freshmen to keep an eye on" this season. Indiana was the only other Big Ten school ranked above Northwestern. O'Neill and Blades, both highly recruited NSCAA high school all-Americans, are part of a very talented six-member incoming class. Blades, a Lakewood, Ohio native who led his high school to two state championships, was named the 2005 Ohio Player of the Year after recording 17 career goals and 41 assists. O'Neill hails from Wilmington, Del. where he took his Salesianum High School team to three state championships, recording 69 career goals and 64 assists and was named the Delaware Player of the Year in recognition of his outstanding efforts.
