Oct. 22, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- It took 90 minutes last Sunday at Indiana to exorcise five years of Big Ten frustration for Northwestern, and now the Wildcats return home looking to continue their conference success with a 2 p.m. match Sunday against Michigan.
NU (9-3-2, 1-1-1 Big Ten) enters this weekend on a three-match winning streak, including its 1-0 victory last week over the defending national champion Hoosiers for the Wildcats' first Big Ten win since 1999.
Sophomore goalkeeper Justin Pines (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) earned Big Ten Defensive Co-Player of the Week honors and was named to Soccer America's Team of the Week for his five-save shutout of IU. He is the third Wildcat to earn Big Ten POW honors and the second to be named to the Soccer America Team of the Week this season.
The win versus Indiana was also NU head coach Tim Lenahan's 150th career victory. He now has 25 wins in his four years at the helm of the Wildcats.
Northwestern continues to lead the conference in scoring, with 31 goals in 14 matches. Sophomore Gerardo Alvarez (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) is tops in the Big Ten with 25 points and 10 goals.
The Wildcats are ranked third in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Great Lakes Region rankings, while Michigan is seventh. The rating is the highest ever for NU in the poll.
Michigan (7-4-2, 0-2-0 Big Ten) enters the weekend still looking for its first Big Ten victory. Before traveling to Evanston, the Wolverines will face Wisconsin in Madison tonight at 7 p.m.
Mychael Turpin leads UM with 12 points on five goals and a pair of assists.
CAT 'NIPS
* Northwestern currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten with four points, two points behind third-place Michigan State. NU has never finished higher than fifth since men's soccer became a conference sport in 1991.
* NU's nine wins is the fourth highest win total in program history and are the most victories for the Wildcats since the 1988 squad went 14-4-1.
* The last time the 'Cats won two Big Ten matches was in 1999 when NU defeated Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Wildcats also beat the Badgers that season in the conference tournament.
* NU received five votes in this week's Soccertimes.com coaches' poll, the first time the Wildcats have ever received votes in a national poll.
* Freshman David Roth (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade) leads the Big Ten in assists with eight and needs one more to become the NU single-season record holder in the category.
* The Wildcats' current three-match winning streak matches its season-best streak from earlier this season, when Northwestern put together a six-match unbeaten streak from Sept. 5-24.