Nov. 8, 2006
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Tournament Bracket
Friday, Nov. 10 -- 1 p.m. CT
Northwestern (11-7) vs. Cincinnati (11-5-2)
Thomas Athletic Complex
Evanston, Ill.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate the day of the game. Prices are $7 for adults, $5 for students with a student I.D. and $1 for infants.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For the second time in three years, the Wildcats will host an opening round NCAA Tournament game at the beautiful Lakeside Field in Evanston at 1 p.m. this Friday when the `Cats (11-7) square off against the Cincinnati Bearcats (11-5-2) of the BIG EAST Conference. The winner will move on to face No. 11-seed Saint Louis on Wed., Nov. 15 in St. Louis, Mo.
"I'm so happy for our guys and especially our seniors to be selected into the NCAA Tournament," head coach Tim Lenahan said. "I think we had a very strong season. It was one of those years where you don't realize how well you did until you sit back and really look at it. We played a tough schedule, got off to great start and lost a couple key guys down the stretch, which hurt us a little bit.
"But I'm so happy for our guys. It's well deserved. We face a very good team in Cincinnati. They are a great team with a great coach and we are looking forward to an exciting game on Friday."
This is Northwestern's second trip to the NCAA in three years after the 'Cats made their first ever appearance in 2004. That year the Wildcats won a school record 15 games, won their first round game against Western Illinois at home before falling on the road to Creighton in round two. This will be the first meeting between Northwestern and Cincinnati.
This year Wildcats enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history -- winning 11 games and starting a program-best 7-1 en route to a No. 14 national ranking back in September -- also the highest ever. The Wildcats defeated four teams ranked in the top 40 of the latest RPI rankings released by the NCAA, which included Hofstra, UC Irvine, Northern Illinois and the school's first win over Ohio State in 13 years.
This year's senior class enters Friday'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 NCAA Tournament -- tied with the 1988 seniors went out with 42 combined wins from 1985-88.
Scouting The Bearcats
Cincinnati enters the NCAA's with an 11-5-2 record and a 7-3-1 mark in the Big East Conference. Omar Cummings led the Bearcats with 21 points (6g, 9a), taking 75 shots and recording four game-winners. Kenny Anaba led the team with seven goals and added five assists for 19 points. Mike Vessells recorded seven shutouts this season with 57 saves while allowing 18 goals. Cincinnati is much like Northwestern in that they like to save their best for last. They also have scored 25 goals this season, with 20 of those coming after halftime. Their season included some big wins over ranked teams such as No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 17 St. John's.
The Bearcats won the BIG EAST Red Division and have won nine of its last 12 matches (9-2-1). UC was picked to finish third in the Red Division.
UC is making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats lost 1-0 in overtime at Butler in 1998 and played Kentucky to a scoreless draw before falling in penalty kicks in 2003.
UC has outscored its opponents, 20-8, during its last 11 matches and has outshot its foes, 203-102 during that span.
Forward Omar Cummings (unanimous first team), forward Kenny Anaba (second team) and defender Amir Ikner (second team) were named to the All-BIG EAST teams.
Head coach Hylton Dayes is in his sixth season at the helm of the Bearcats, holding a 57-42-17 mark.
Noting The Wildcats
Senior Brad North and junior David Roth led a list of four Wildcats honored by the Big Ten last Thursday at the 2006 Big Ten Men's Soccer Awards Banquet at the Holiday Inn in Columbus, Ohio. Both North and Roth were named to the all-Big Ten first-team while Carl Pett was named to the second-team. Pett also joined Mark Blades on the all-freshman team.
North, now a two-time first-team selection, is tied with Roth for the team lead with seven goals and is second on the team with 16 points. He was twice named the Big Ten's Player of the Week and scored the game-winning goals against Michigan and in the win over No. 24 Northern Illinois in double overtime. He also was named to the National Teams of the Week by College Soccer News, SoccerAmerica.com and TopDrawerSoccer.com after scoring two goals in the win over Ohio State. North was among the leaders in the Big Ten in goals and points. He now joins Brad Napper as the only two-time first-team honorees in Northwestern's history.
After a sub-par year in 2005, Roth rebounded in a big way this season, leading Northwestern with 18 points (7g, 4a) and was among the league leaders in goals and total points. A second-team All-Big Ten selection last season, Roth was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 11, scoring three goals to help the Wildcats go 2-0 and clinch the championship of the Adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational. 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. The Wildcats are 8-1 this season when he records at least one point in goal or assist fashion.
Red shirt freshman Pett led Northwestern and the Big Ten in assists this season with eight and ranked 15th nationally. When Pett was on his game, the Wildcats won -- NU was a perfect 6-0 when he recorded at least one assist. He assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the win over Ohio State, had two assists in the win over Michigan and also assisted on the game-winning goal in the win over Loyola. He scored his lone goal in the win over Drake at the Northern Illinois Tournament. He is third on the team with 10 points.
True-freshman Blades established himself early and often in the Wildcat backline this season. In the opening weekend 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 continued that trend throughout the season. Blades recorded his first point as a Wildcat Sept. 24 against Penn State when he assisted on North's goal late in the second half. He then tallied his first career goal in the win over Valparaiso. He tallied another assist in the Big Ten opening round match with Penn State last Thursday.
LAST TIME OUT: Fifth-seed Northwestern bowed out of this year's Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament with a 2-1 loss in double overtime to the fourth-seed Penn State Nittany Lions Thursday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The scene on the field after the game said it all as the Northwestern players lay on the field in disgust and disappointment after keeping the Nittany Lions on the ropes for almost the entire game. North put the Wildcats in front 1-0 in the 25th minute when Blades fed the senior inside the 18-yard box. North beat his defender on the play and knocked it past Penn State's Conrad Taylor for the goal. Penn State had a golden opportunity to tie the game right before halftime, but NU goalkeeper Justin Pines made a terrific diving save off a header from PSU's Chris Germani. Later in the half, with NU still clinging to its 1-0 lead, Penn State tied the game in the 81st minute on Ryan Badaracco's goal who knocked the ball in off a deflection inside the 6-yard box. Right after the Penn State goal, North had two chances to tie the game, as his open shot from 25-yards out 30 seconds later sailed just high. Then five minutes later The Woodlands, Texas native had another chance on a breakaway, but was denied by Taylor. Both team's traded shots in the first overtime until Penn State finally made good on Simon Omekanda's shot in the 103rd minute for the win.
Working Overtime: The Wildcats have played 12 periods of soccer over the last three games. NU gave away a game on the road at Michigan State on Oct. 15 in double-overtime before rebounding on the final day of the regular-season when North knocked in a Geoff Fallon pass in the final minute of double-overtime to earn the 1-0 win over the ranked Huskies. Then last Thursday, NU carried a 1-0 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game before the Nittany Lions came back late to tie it and eventually win it in double overtime.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tim Lenahan, the Northwestern's men's soccer program has arrived as a Big Ten power. The Wildcats were 11-7 this season, giving Lenahan a combined 35-20-4 record over the last three years -- with two trips to the NCAA Tournament. 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.
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-five (25) 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 7-2 when scoring first. Probably the most devastating of those two defeats was to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament in which the Wildcats led 1-0 all the way up until the 81st minute when PSU tied it and eventually won in double-overtime.
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 fifth with 24 goals. Alvarez took a team-high six shots in the narrow loss to No. 17 UIC Oct. 11 and was named to the 2006 Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
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 tied for 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.
Goalkeeper Justin Pines, who has started the last two games for Northwestern in goal, started his first game of the season in the 1-0 double-overtime shutout win over No. 24 NIU on Oct. 27. 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 (3-1) 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 eight games (two starts) this year with nine saves and allowing just three goals.
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 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.
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.
Behind two Brad North goals and another one by David Roth, the Wildcats did something Sept. 17 they haven't done in 13 years: beat Ohio State. Northwestern defeated the Buckeyes 3-1 and snapped a 15-match winless streak against OSU. Once again, the Wildcats came back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime -- the third time in four games--and won. They regrouped at halftime and didn't take long to tie it up as Carl Pett fed a streaking North who fired it past OSU's keeper into the right side of the net six minutes into the half. Five minutes later, Pett fed Roth in a similar fashion, as Roth took the pass and shook his way past OSU's keeper who was charging on the play, and tapped it in for the easy goal and the 2-1 lead. Then in the 63rd minute, Northwestern added an insurance goal when North tallied his second goal of the day with an assist from Eamon O'Neill.
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.
