Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Open Camp In Preparation for 2011 Campaign
8/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 10, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - At precisely 12:01 a.m. as Tuesday turned into Wednesday, the Northwestern men's soccer team opened up its training for the 2011 season with the goal of returning to the NCAA tournament already in sight.
NU head coach Tim Lenahan sat down with NUsports.com to provide a season outlook.
What are some of your goals and expectations for the team in 2011?
"We always enter the season with the same goal primary goals: Be the best overall experience in college soccer and make the NCAA tournament. Having great guys who believe in the program is what makes it such a great experience for the players. With that said, we need to be successful on the field and seeing your name on the board come November is the best indicator that you have achieved that goal. Once we get to that level, we re-establish our post-season goals, become a tough out NCAA time and look to make a deep run. That being said, you have to be in it to win it."
This program has a recent history of re-inventing itself from one season to the next. What are some of the strengths of this year's team and what do you think its identity will be?
"This year's team takes into the season the fact that for the first time in five years we are not coming off an NCAA tournament berth. I think this year's team will have a great mix of humility and that edge of getting back to the dance. The selection show on Monday after the Big Ten tournament is not nearly as exciting when you know your name is not being called. We are not a team trying to continue the tradition but rather a team looking to regain our spot in the national spotlight. Having that "edge" this year in preseason, training sessions and matches is critical to our success."
"Matt was an exceptional player for us and will be difficult to replace. In attack, Reed Losee had a very good spring and could really step up and with Oliver Kupe to form a formidable attacking duo. Nick Gendron has given us a lot of work and pace up top and hopefully that will transfer into more minutes. Lucas Swertloff has really become one of the leaders of this team off the field and I expect him to have a bigger impact on the field this year as well. Kyle Schickel is ready for a breakthrough season. He is really taking ownership of his perfomance and leadership role. Jarrett Baughman will be the anchor in the back and has recovered nicely from some concussion issues that kept him out the second half of last season. Chris Ritter returns from a stress fracture injury that cost him all of last year after a Freshmen All-Big Ten season. John Rogers could be a guy who finds his way onto the field as well. Jonathan Harris and Tommy Tombridge will again be competing for the goalkeeper position with freshman Tyler Miller."
Oliver Kupe led the team with 10 goals last season and earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades. What are some of your expectations for him this season?
"Oliver brings ridiculous athleticism to the table and a certain swagger that he is going to be successful. We need to try to keep him healthy. He had two surgeries in the off-season but I think he enters his senior year focused on leading this team to success. He has grown a lot as a person and a player from the first season when he scored the two goals in the NCAA tournament to beat Notre Dame."
The team started as many as five freshmen at a time last season. How do you feel that experience will help them moving forward?
"The bad news last year is that we started as many as five freshmen. The good news is that last year we started as many as five freshmen. The growth of that group is absolutely critical to our success. Layth Masri and Lepe Seetane were Big Ten All-Freshman Team selections a year ago with Reed Losee, Connor Holloway and Scott Lakin not too far away from being a part of that group. Connor and Reed were two of our better players in the spring and Jeff Rogers made great strides. That being said, I expect Lepe to take that big leap from good college soccer player to the special player he is capable of becoming."
Lepe Seetane and Layth Masri were both named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team a year ago. Who are some of the freshmen who might be able to step in and contribute right away this season?
"I think Tyler Miller and Nikko Boxall could be two players that could have an immediate impact. Tyler comes to us with great pedigree from my home area of Southern New Jersey and international experience with the Region I team and the US Under-18 National Team. He has great size and good shot-stopping ability. Nikko will be joining us late in preseason after playing with New Zealand in the U-20s this summer. Nikko is our first true international player and can hopefully bring that experience to our team. Eric Weberman is a powerful and explosive player who has a lot of versatility. Peter Horner gives us that big body that should help him in the rugged Big Ten once he gets a little experience. Grant Wilson and Peter Beasley both come off spectacular club and high school careers and will give us depth in the back. Jagger Martinez is a smooth left-sided player who could find his way on to the field."
What did you accomplish during your spring season?
"I think the biggest lesson learned during the spring, for both the players and the coaches, is that we didn't like the progress we were making. While the overall soccer was pretty good and we finished with a record of 5-2-3 with only two goals against, something was missing. We spent a lot of time after our spring playing season breaking down what we need to be successful. The status quo was not working for us and it really forced us as a team to take a good look at ourselves and say if we want to be back in the NCAA tournament we have to change the way we approach our progress. From that perspective, it was a very, very successful spring in that we learned what won't work and resolved ourselves to put our efforts towards what will."
Northwestern travels to SIU Edwardville for an exhibition game on Sunday before hosting Wheaton College in exhibition play Aug. 19. The regular season gets underway Aug. 26 when the Wildcats face Eastern Illinois at Lakeside Field.
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