Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Hosts UIC Wednesday in NCAA Tournament Second Round
11/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 26, 2007
NU NCAA Tournament Notes vs. UIC 
EVANSTON, Ill. -
Northwestern, the No. 9 overall seed, faces local rival UIC in a second-round NCAA tournament contest at Lakeside Field in Evanston at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Flames are coming off a defeat in penalty kicks over host Saint Louis on Friday after the teams played to a scoreless tie.
Tournament History
Northwestern is making its third NCAA tournament appearance in school history, all coming in the last four seasons. The Wildcats are 4-2 all-time in NCAA tournament play.
Last year: NU advanced all the way to the quarterfinal round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion UC Santa Barbara, 3-2. The Wildcats defeated Cincinnati (3-0), Saint Louis (1-0) and UNC Greensboro (2-1) along the way.
Live Tournament Coverage
Gametracker will be available for the match and can be accessed via NUsports.com.
Series History
The Wildcats and the Flames seemed destined to meet up this season. After playing one another in each of the previous 17 consecutive regular seasons, the teams did not face off this year. UIC holds a 12-7-2 all-time advantage in the series. Northwestern is 2-4 against the Flames under head coach Tim Lenahan. UIC won last year's matchup 1-0 Oct. 11, 2006 on its home field.
Wildcats Bow Out in Semifinals of Big Ten Championship
Third-seeded Northwestern was eliminated from the 2007 Big Ten Championship in the semifinal round, dropped a tight 1-0 decision to second-seeded Ohio State. The Wildcats advanced to the contest by downing Wisconsin, the No. 6 seed, in the opening round. David Roth scored a pair of goals to spark NU, while Mark Blades added one. The efforts helped both players in being named to the all-tournament team. Justin Pines made seven saves to pick up the victory in goal. Northwestern created numerous quality scoring chances for itself the follow day against the Buckeyes but were unable to cash in. Xavier Balc's goal in the 54th minute proved to be the game's lone tally. The Wildcats finished with a 17-13 advantage in shots, including a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. However, OSU goalkeeper Casey Latchem made six saves to hold Northwestern at bay and earn the win.
Five Wildcats Net All-Big Ten Honors
Northwestern was recognized for its outstanding season by having a school-record five individuals named to the All-Big Ten teams announced Nov. 8. Previously, the record most Wildcat players to earn All-Big Ten honors in a season was three (1999, 2005, 2006). Senior David Roth and sophomore Carl Pett were both named to the first team, while sophomores Mark Blades and Misha Rosenthal and freshman Piero Bellizzi were named to the second team. Bellizzi was also a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team and was honored as the conference's Freshman of the Year, NU's first player to earn the honor since Gerardo Alvarez in 2003. Roth was one of five individuals to unanimously be named to the first team. In addition, senior defender Matt Witt was recognized as Northwestern's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Familiar Face Does Double Duty
The Wildcats welcomed back a familiar face to the program two-thirds of the way through the season as senior goalkeeper Justin Pines rejoined the team. Pines was a member of the men's soccer team from 2003-06 and had been serving as a reserve kicker on the Northwestern football team this season. A knee injury to Misha Rosenthal left the list of NU keepers in short supply. Pines made his first appearance and start of the season against No. 16 Michigan State Oct. 28 and made one save to earn the shutout win. He also got the win in the Oct. 31 match with Western Illinois. Nov. 3 was a particularly busy day for Pines. In the morning, he saw his first action on the football field of the season as he handled kickoff duties against Iowa. Later that day, he made his way over to Lakeside Field and played the second half and both overtimes against Green Bay without allowing a goal. Pines also played both matches in goal at the Big Ten tournament.
A Solid Big Ten Standing
Northwestern's win over Michigan State Oct. 28 gave the Wildcats a final Big Ten record of 3-2-1 this season. The mark ties the school record for best conference mark in a season, tying the similar finish by the 2004 squad. NU has nine wins in the last four Big Ten seasons after posting just four wins in the previous 13 conference seasons.
Establishing a Winning Legacy
The last four seasons should prove that the Wildcats have established themselves as a force in the Big Ten. Northwestern has posted nine Big Ten victories from 2004-07. In the previous 13 seasons, NU recorded a combined four wins in conference play. The Wildcats have also posted double-digit win totals overall in three of the last four seasons. Northwestern had just four other 10-plus win campaigns from 1980-2003, including none since 1988.
Wildcats in the National Rankings
Northwestern dropped down two spots to No. 16 in the final NSCAA regular season top 25 released Nov. 13. The Wildcats moved down one spot to fourth in the Great Lakes Region rankings behind Indiana, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Wildcats have been ranked as high as No. 3 in the NSCAA poll this season, their highest ranking in school history. NU was No. 15 in the final SoccerTimes.com rankings and No. 18 in the final College Soccer News poll.
Ratner Named Academic All-District
Northwestern redshirt junior defender Drew Ratner was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District V First Team. Ratner is a psychology major and sports a 3.53 grade point average. On the field, he has anchored a Northwestern defense that has posted a school-record nine shutouts this season.
You'll Get Nothing and Like It
Northwestern's shutout of Michigan State Oct. 28 marked the team's ninth shutout of the season. The total sets a new school single-season record, surpassing the previous mark of eight set in 2006. The Wildcats rank fifth nationally with a goals-against average of 0.56. Goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal owns seven of the shutouts, tying J.D. Martin's school single-season record for shutouts by an individual. Martin originally set the standard in 2002. Rosenthal's 0.51 goals-against average through games played Nov. 4 ranks sixth in the country. Northwestern posted five consecutive shutouts from Sept. 9-26 to set a program record. The 1981, 1985 and 1988 teams each recorded four straight shutouts to set the previous mark. NU and Rosenthal saw their streak of holding their opponents scoreless end at an impressive 536 minutes and 25 seconds against Penn State Sept. 29.
Instant Impact
Piero Bellizzi and Matt Eliason have made quite the impact in their freshman seasons. The duo is tied for second place on the team behind only David Roth with 16 points apiece. Bellizzi has a team-best eight assists and Eliason is second on the squad with five goals. Bellizzi's assist total is tied for the third-most in the Big Ten this season, while Eliason's three game-winning goals this season rank tied for fourth. Bellizzi was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was honored as the conference's Freshman of the Year.
Roth Leaves His Mark
NU senior David Roth is winding down his collegiate career and will surely go down as one of the top players in program history. The St. Louis native earned the second first-team All-Big Ten selection of his career this season and leads the team with 19 points on a team-best six goals while ranking second with seven assists. Roth's two goals against Wisconsin in the opening round of the Big Ten tournament helped him earn all-tournament team honors. He led the Wildcats with 21 points last season on eight goals--four of those game-winners--and five assists. His biggest goal of the 2006 season came in the upset win at perennial NCAA power Saint Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as the Wildcats prevailed 1-0. Roth is Northwestern's all-time leader with 32 assists and is third with 70 total points.
Next Up...
The winner of Wednesday match will advance to face the winner of the contest between No. 8 Creighton and SMU this Sunday, Dec. 2.
