Nov. 18, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - The 1999 Northwestern men?s soccer team had high hopes for this season, but the injury bug caught them early and spread quickly. As a result, all 22 players on the roster earned starts this season, with only junior Nick Spoerke starting all 20 games. Last year?s leading scorer, Jon Cantwell, played in only one game before breaking his big toe and missing the entire season. After that, a plethora of minor injuries kept key players out of games. Despite the injuries the Wildcats played opponents tough all year long, losing seven games by one goal including heartbreaking 1-0 losses to then-No. 1 Indiana in the 87th minute of play and then-No. 5 Penn State on a penalty kick.
Northwestern won five of its last seven games, over Wis.-Green Bay (1-0), Denver (3-1), Valparaiso (3-0), Michigan State (1-0) and then in the Big Ten tournament over Wisconsin (2-0). With the strong finish, NU closed with a 6-14 overall record and a best-ever 2-3 mark in the Big Ten. Leading the way offensively was junior Jun Kim (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier), who scored five goals and recorded four assists. He scored gamewinners against Wisconsin and Wis.-Green Bay and finished tied for 11th in the Big Ten with 14 points. Not far behind was senior Frank Lawson (Lakewood, Colo./Green Mountain), with four goals and one assist with the gamewinner against Michigan State.
Despite the tough losses in the regular season, the Wildcats recorded several record-breaking firsts in the post-season. The fourth-seeded Wildcats defeated fifth-seeded Wisconsin 2-0 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament ? NU?s first ever win in Big Ten tournament play. It also marked NU?s first ever trip to the semifinal round, where the season ended as the Cats lost to eventual Big Ten champion Indiana, 2-0.
In addition to the Wildcats? historic run in the tournament, several members of the team enjoyed individual success as well. Goalkeeper Matt Keeler (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) was the first player in the soccer program?s nine-year history in the Big Ten to be honored as first team All-Big Ten. Keeler led the conference with 98 saves. Also honored were defenders Nick Spoerke (Lakewood, Colo./Wheat Ridge) and Brandon Swalve (Cedarsburg, Wis./Cedarsburg), as they were named to second team all Big Ten. This marks the second straight year Swalve has received the honor.
NU loses four seniors from this year?s team, but the returning players will bring solid experience with them next season. With the return of Cantwell from injury and this year?s encouraging post-season accomplishments, the 2000 men?s soccer team looks to improve on this year?s record and reach even higher levels of success.