Gerardo Alvarez scored his first goal of the season Friday at Penn State.Gerardo Alvarez scored his first goal of the season Friday at Penn State.

Northwestern to Rumble with the Ramblers

Weekly Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Oct. 11, 2005

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern returns to Evanston to play two home matches this week. The Wildcats first face area-foe Loyola (Ill.) at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12. The 'Cats then battle defending national champion Indiana on Sunday.

Northwestern is coming off a 4-1 conference loss to Penn State over the weekend. Junior Gerardo Alvarez (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) scored his first goal of the season in the match.

The Wildcats' match against Princeton on Sunday, Oct. 9 was postponed due to unplayable field conditions. It has been tentatively rescheduled for Oct. 23.

The Wildcats have taken three-in-row from the Ramblers, dating back to October 30, 2002. In the last meeting, Northwestern sent home two second half goals to rally past Loyola, 2-1. Brad Napper (Dallas, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) and Kevin Earnest (Lombard, Ill./Benet Academy) scored for Northwestern in the win.

Loyola (4-4-2, 0-1) is coming off a 0-0 tie with Northern Illinois Sunday, Oct. 9. The Ramblers are 1-3-1 away from home in 2005, and face a Wildcats squad that has played to a perfect 4-0 record at the Leonard B. Thomas Athletic Complex this season.

With 10 different goal-scorers, Northwestern prepares to see a balanced offensive attack from Loyola. Keum Sung Kim leads the Ramblers with four scores this year.

Following Loyola, the Wildcats pounce back into action against eighth-ranked Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 16.

This match marks the rematch of what was the biggest victory in program history.

In 2004 Brad North (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) scored in the 39th-minute to propel Northwestern past the defending national champions.

Indiana (7-1-3, 1-1-1) has four players boasting more than 10 points, while the Hoosier defense has allowed opponents only five goals this season.

The Hoosiers are coming off a 2-0 victory against Michigan in Ann Arbor Sunday.