Sept. 29, 2006
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Sunday, Oct. 1 -- 1 p.m. CT
No. 26 Northwestern (8-2, 1-1)
at Wisconsin (5-3-2, 1-0-1)
McClimon Soccer Complex
Madison, Wis.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 26 Northwestern (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten) returns to conference play this weekend when they hit the road to face Wisconsin (5-3-2, 1-0-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Madison. Wisconsin is currently one point ahead of the third place Wildcats in the Big Ten standings.
Both teams are coming off mid-week victories this week as the Wildcats defeated cross-town rival Loyola 2-0 on Wednesday night while the Badgers handed No. 7 UIC its first loss of the season with a 1-0 win over the Flames on Thursday in Madison.
The two squads have split the last three contests with the Badgers winning last season 2-1 in Evanston, Northwestern winning 2-1 in 2004 up in Madison while playing to a 0-0 tie back in 2003 at Northwestern.
About The Badgers
Wisconsin is 2-0-2 in its last four games, defeating Michigan and No. 7 UIC while tying UW-Milwaukee (2-2) and Michigan State (0-0) on the road. They opened up the season with a 1-0 loss to No. 2 SMU before reeling off three straight wins against Tulsa, Lipscomb and IPFW. A 2-1 loss to No. 6 Washington and a 1-0 overtime loss to Creighton followed before winning their Big Ten opener against the Wolverines on Sept. 17. Like the Wildcats, Wisconsin features a balanced attack offensively, having five players with multiple goals this season. Zach Lambo, Victor Diaz, Eric Conter and Brian Bultman each have three goals with Lambo chipping in with a team-best three assists for nine points. Aaron Hohlbein, a 2005 First-Team All-Big Ten selection, also is back at his defender position with one goal and one assist on the year. Jake Settle has started all 10 games in goal and is second in the Big Ten in goals-against-average (0.74) as of Sept. 26. Jeff Rohrman is the head coach in his fifth season.
Noting the Wildcats
LAST TIME OUT: The Wildcats continued their dominance over cross-town rival Loyola Wednesday with a 2-0 victory at the Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago. The win was the fifth in a row over the Ramblers and the sixth win in the last seven games for Northwestern. After Loyola had held their last four opponents scoreless, Northwestern made sure to end that streak quickly with a goal from Eamon O'Neill in the 14th minute of play. It was O'Neill's second goal of the season and just the second first period goal for NU this season. Carl Pett added to his Big Ten-leading five assists on the goal. Junior Drew Ratner then tallied his first career goal in the second half off an assist from David Roth in the 53rd minute of play. It was Roth's third dish of the season and the 23rd of his career. Will Briley (6-2) recorded three saves in goal for NU for his fourth shutout of the season.
LAST BIG TEN GAME: Two late goals by Penn State were too much to overcome as Northwestern had its five-game win streak snapped last Sunday in a 2-1 loss. PSU's Barkley Miller made it 2-0 Penn State in the 81st minute before Northwestern finally mounted a comeback with Brad North's goal in the 89th minute. But despite outshooting PSU 24-12, the Wildcats couldn't muster a second goal to tie the game. Freshman Mark Blades recorded his first career assist on North's second half goal.
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tim Lenahan, the Northwestern's men's soccer program is on the rise. The Wildcats are 8-2 so far this season, giving Lenahan a combined 32-15-4 record over the last two-plus years, a .666 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. The No. 14 national ranking last week was the highest in program history, coming off the heels of a 3-1 win over Ohio State whom the Wildcats had not defeated in 13 years prior.
(Big Ten stats as of Sept. 27) The Wildcats are among the leaders in several Big Ten statistical categories. Northwestern is tops in the Big Ten in assists (15) and assists per game (1.67), second in points per game (4.78) and third in goals (14), goals per game (1.56) and fewest goals allowed (8). Individually, Carl Pett leads the conference in assists (4) and assists per game (0.50) while Gerardo Alvarez is third in both categories with three assists. Junior David Roth is first with three game-winning goals and second in four other categories: total points (12), points per game (1.33), goals (5) and goals per game (0.56). Senior Brad North is fifth in the league in both points (9) and goals (4) and sixth in points per game (1.00) and goals per game (0.44). Defensively, Will Briley is second in save percentage (.811) and third in goals-against-average (0.90) and shutouts (3).
This bunch likes to save their best for last. Through 10 games, the Wildcats have either been behind or tied at the half nine times, only to come away victorious on seven of those nine occasions. Sixteen goals have been scored by Northwestern this year, with 14 of those coming in the second half. They are 4-1 when tied at the half and 3-1 when trailing. On a more impressive note, NU is 8-0 this season when holding opponents under two goals.
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.
Senior forward Brad North 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 is second on the team with four goals with one assist for nine points.
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 scored the game-winner in the win over Ohio State Sept. 17 and leads the Wildcats with five goals and 13 total points.
Senior Gerardo Alvarez is still searching for his first goal of the season, but has made up for it in other areas with three assists -- good for second on the team. Alvarez, a two-time all-Big Ten selection and the 2003 Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year, ranks first on NU's all-time assist list (24), is second in points (72) and fourth with 24 goals.
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. O'Neill later added an assist in the big win over Ohio State Sept. 17. O'Neill has two goals and two assists this season and is fourth on the team with six points.
Sophomore midfielder Carl Pett leads Northwestern and the Big Ten in assists this season with five and assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in the win over Ohio State on Sept. 17. He then assisted on the game-winning goal in the win over Loyola Sept. 27.
Sophomore goalkeeper Will Briley is 6-2 this season with 33 saves and four shutouts. Briley shared time in goal last season with Misha Rosenthal and earned all-Big Ten freshman team honors. Briley, a starter in all 10 games, has given up just three goals in his last six games and has posted a season-high five saves in three games this season. He now has seven career shutouts.
Senior goalkeeper Justin Pines has also played important minutes for the Wildcats in the back-up role. 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 three games this year (106 minutes) with six saves and allowing just one goal in over two halves of play.
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. 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.
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 are back in action at home next Wednesday when they square off against Valparaiso at the Thomas Athletic Complex. Game time is 3:30 p.m.
