Oct. 23, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - When third-year head coach Tim Lenahan first took the reins of the NU soccer program, he knew he had quite a bit of work to do. He attached the phrase "building something special" to the task and has spent his tenure getting everyone to buy into the motto as well.
One of the benchmarks any team that is rebuilding, or building -- depending on how you look at it -- is the amount of time it takes to get to the first .500-or-better season.
While the NU turnaround has certainly been nothing short of special already, the 6-6-4 'Cats have two more regular-season matches to push themselves ahead of the curve. NU heads to Columbus, Ohio Sunday for its last conference road match of the season against the Buckeyes.
The Wildcats are 0-3-1 in Big Ten play thus far and are still in search of their first conference victory under Lenahan. Speaking of being ahead of the curve, freshman Gerardo Alvarez has already made his mark in the NU record books.
With 22 points, he is tied for eighth place for points in a season. Alvarez needs just five more points to jump into the top five. If the 'Cats do leap over the .500 mark, Alvarez is likely to be one of the primary contributors. The match against Ohio State is slated for noon.