Sept. 22, 2006
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Sunday, Sept. 24, 12:30 p.m. CT
#14 Northwestern (7-1, 1-0)
vs. Penn State (2-5-1, 1-0)
Thomas Athletic Complex
Evanston, Ill.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 14 Northwestern (7-1, 1-0 Big Ten), now winners of five consecutive games, will look to move to 2-0 in the conference when they welcome Penn State (2-5-1, 1-0 Big Ten) to the Thomas Athletic Complex this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The Wildcats are coming off a 1-0 win over DePaul while the Nittany Lions fell on the road to No. 6 Maryland 2-0 on Wednesday.
Chipotle BIG GAME This Sunday
The BIG GAME concept was created by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in the fall of 2004 to encourage student-athletes to attend each others contests. It started as an athletic department initiative only, but has since expanded to the entire student body starting in 2005. Chipotle has supported the BIG GAME since its inception and became the official sponsor in February of 2006. At each BIG GAME, the first 50 Northwestern students receive a coupon for a FREE burrito. One student will also win a year's supply of Chipotle burrito coupons.
Men's Soccer has the first fall Chipotle BIG GAME this Sunday, September 24 vs. Penn State at 12:30 p.m. at the Thomas Athletic Complex.
The other fall Chipotle BIG Games are listed below:
Women's Soccer Chipotle BIG Game
Friday, October 6 vs. Michigan State at 4 p.m.
Games played at the Thomas Athletic Complex
Volleyball Chipotle BIG Game
Friday, October 13 vs. Penn State at 7 p.m.
Games played at Welsh-Ryan Arena
Field Hockey Chipotle BIG Game
Friday, October 20 vs. Penn State at 3 p.m.
Games played at the Thomas Athletic Complex
Quoting Coach Lenahan
"Penn State is the defending champion of the Big Ten and they remain the champion until someone knocks them off. They have played one of the best schedules in the country, have great players and Barry Gorman will have them ready to play. We had a great atmosphere last weekend against Ohio State and I expect another great crowd this weekend. It should be a great game."
About Penn State
The Nittany Lions, the defending Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions, are 2-5-1 with a 1-0 record in the Big Ten after their 3-1 win over Michigan State last Sunday. They have been to the NCAA Championship four of the past five years, advancing to the second round in 2005. PSU has scored only six goals on the season, but have faced some stiff competition, going up against five top 25 teams. They are led this season by a pair of returning all-Big Ten selections in senior forward Simon Omekanda (1g, 2a) and senior defender Markku Viitanen. Barkley Miller also is tied for the team lead (1g, 2a) with four points on the year. Penn State is coached by Barry Gorman, the all-time winningest coach at Penn State and the 2006 Big Ten Coach of the Year, who is in his 19th year.
Penn State leads the all-time series 18-1-1, with NU's lone win coming in the 2004 season at the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Noting the Wildcats
The Wildcats are moving up the national ranks. By virtue of their 7-1 start, the Wildcats are ranked No. 14 in this week's NSCAA/Adidas Top 25 national poll -- their highest ranking ever. The 7-1 record also is the best start in the program's history.
Head coach Tim Lenahan has Northwestern's men's soccer program on the rise. The Wildcats are 7-1 so far this season, giving Lenahan a combined 31-14-4 record over the last two-plus years, a .673 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.
Senior forward Brad North was named this week's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week in recognition of his play in the win over Ohio State on Sunday. 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 Ohio State on Sunday, helping the Wildcats defeat the Buckeyes 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 is fifth on NU's all-time career goals list with 22 and sixth with 51 career points.
Last Time Out: The first career goal by sophomore Geoff Fallon was all the Wildcats needed as Northwestern improved to 7-1 Wednesday with its 1-0 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons at Wish Field in Chicago. The Wildcats, ranked 14th in the country, have now won five straight games and improved on their best start in school history with the win. Gerardo Alvarez picked up his third assist of the season when he found Fallon on the left side of the box who fired a laser shot into the upper right corner of the goal for the game-winner in the 73rd minute. The Blue Demons had a golden opportunity to tie the game up late when a DePaul shot hit the crossbar, negating any comeback attempt. Will Briley continued his solid play in goal, recording three saves and improving his record to 5-1. DePaul's Brian Visser took the loss.
This bunch likes saving their best for last. Through eight games, the Wildcats have either been behind or tied at the half, only to come away victorious on seven of those eight occasions. Thirteen goals have been scored by Northwestern this year, with 12 of those coming in the second half. They are 4-0 when tied at the half and 3-1 when trailing.
The Wildcats are among the league leaders in several statistical categories as of Sept. 18 (Big Ten releases statistics each Monday). Northwestern leads the Big Ten in assists (13) and assists per game (1.86), are second in points per game (5.29), goals (12) and goals per game (1.71) and third in fewest goals allowed (6) and goals-against average (0.86). Individually, David Roth is first in total points (12), points per game (1.71), goals (5), goals per game (0.71) and game-winning goals (3). Carl Pett leads the league in assists (4) and assists per game (0.67).
Pett assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the win over Ohio State on Sept. 17. In addition to his Big Ten leading 0.67 assists per game, he also ranks 19th nationally (as of Sept. 18) in assists per game.
Behind two Brad North goals and another one by David Roth, the Wildcats did something last Sunday they haven't done in 13 years: beat Ohio State. Northwestern defeated the Buckeyes Sunday 3-1 and snapped a 15-match winless streak against the Buckeyes. Once again, the Wildcats came back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime -- the third time 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.
Junior midfielder David Roth 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. Roth 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.
Freshman Eamon O'Neill registered the first points of his career in the win over UC Irvine on Sept. 4. 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.
Sophomore Will Briley won the starting goalkeeper job in the preseason and is 5-1 on the season with 25 saves and three shutouts. He has allowed just two goals in the last four games, with one of those coming off a penalty kick. Briley, who has five career shutouts, shared time in goal last season with Misha Rosenthal and earned all-Big Ten freshman team honors.
Senior goalkeeper Justin Pines saw his first action of the season when he was inserted at halftime of the UC Irvine game. Pines, who picked up his first win since the 2004 season after sitting out last year with an injury, 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.
Freshman Mark Blades established himself early and often in the Wildcat backline in the opening weekend of the season and in the process, picked up Lakeside Classic MVP honors. Blades' quickness, speed and athleticism in the back smothered the opposition's attack throughout both games. A Lakewood, Ohio native, Blades was the 2005 Ohio Player of the Year for Cleveland-St. Ignatius. His steady play in the Wildcat backfield has Northwestern giving up just 0.75 goals per game, good for third in the conference.
There are 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 and 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.
The Wildcats take on Loyola (Ill.) at 7 p.m. next Wednesday on the road before continuing Big Ten play on the road at Wisconsin next Sunday, Oct. 1. Game time is 1 p.m.
