Northwestern Weekly Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's men's soccer team will kick off Big Ten play on the road against Michigan at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25. Northwestern (4-2-0) is riding a two-match win streak heading into Sunday's contest against the Wolverines.
The Wildcats went 2-0 last weekend in the NIU Adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational with a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois and a 2-1 defeat of I.U.P.U.I. While Northwestern was undefeated in the tournament, Detroit-Mercy, which was also 2-0 in the tournament, was named tournament champion due to goal differential.
Northwestern's Jaro Pylypczak (Lombard, Ill./Benet Academy), David Roth (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade College Prep) and Adam Sirois (Dover, N.H./Berwick Academy) were named to the all-tournament team.
Brad North (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) knocked home the game-winning goal against NIU, his third goal of the season. Misha Rosenthal (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) recorded seven saves and his second career shutout in the win.
In the second game of the tournament, North scored his fourth goal of the year to put the Wildcats up 1-0 early in the second half. After I.U.P.U.I. tied the game, senior co-captain Brad Napper (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) scored the game winner for the 'Cats.
Northwestern is off to its second-best start under head coach Tim Lenahan, falling short only to the 2004 team which went 4-1-1 through the first six games.
The Wolverines (5-2-0) went 1-1 last weekend with a 2-1 loss at Oakland followed by a 1-0 home overtime victory over Kentucky.
The Wolverines are led by Ryan Alexander, who leads the team in points (7), goals (3), game-winning goals (2), shots (23) and shots-on-goal (9). Michigan goalkeeper Peter Dzubay is the school's all-time leader in saves (226), wins (28) and shutouts (14).
Michigan is coming off of its third most successful season in program history, when it posted an 11-8-4 record. The Wolverines only went 1-4-1 in the Big Ten last season, finishing last, but were one of six Big Ten teams to make the NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern looks to win its first regular season match against Michigan in Ann Arbor this weekend.
Northwestern will make the trip to Michigan without junior goalkeeper Justin Pines (Media, Pa./Strath Haven) or junior midfielder Will Nicholas (Orefield, Pa./Parkland). Both underwent season-ending knee surgery this week.