Aug. 30, 2006
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Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m. CT
Northwestern vs. #20 Santa Clara (1-0-1)
Monday, Sept. 4, 3 p.m. CT
Northwestern vs. UC Irvine (1-0)
Anteater Stadium (2,500)
Irvine, Calif.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern (2-0), ranked No. 28 in the latest collegesoccernews.com Top 30 poll, takes to the road for the first time in the 2006 regular-season this weekend when they travel to take part in the UC Irvine College Classic in Irvine, Calif. for a pair of matches against two soccer powerhouses out west. The Wildcats will first take on 20th-ranked UC Santa Clara (1-0-1) at 7 p.m. CT Saturday night before taking on tournament host UC Irvine at 3 p.m. Monday.
"We are playing two great teams this weekend in Santa Clara and UC Irvine," head coach Tim Lenahan said. "Santa Clara has been one of the elite programs in the country, going to the final four as little as two seasons ago, and has five final four appearances and an NCAA championship to its credit. UC Irvine has quickly become a power out west and boasts a pre-season all-American in Brad Evans. We will have our work cut out for us this weekend, but our guys are looking forward to the competition."
The Broncos, ranked 20th in the preseason NSCAA Top 25 poll after a 13-6-3 season in 2005, are one of the winningest college soccer teams on the west coast, with over 400 program wins and 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. Santa Clara, who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, picked up a 1-0 victory at Stanford last Friday before playing California to a 1-1 tie on Sunday at home. Peter Lowry and Jeff Cosgriff each have a goal for the Broncos while Joseph Buttita has played all 200 minutes in goal with three saves and one shutout. They are coached by Cameron Rast who is in his fifth season.
Tournament host UC Irvine enters the weekend 1-0 on the young season after defeating Denver 4-1 in its regular-season opener last Friday at home. The Anteaters are led by preseason all-American Brad Evans, who was named the 2005 Big West Offensive Player of the Year and the 2004 Big West Midfielder of the Year. Junior Rudy Mondragon leads the team with four points (2g) on the year. UC Irvine is led by head coach George Kuntz who is in his 12th season.
Noting the Wildcats
The Wildcats started the season off 2-0 for the second straight season, capturing the championship of the fourth annual Lakeside Classic last weekend with wins over Hofstra and Dayton. In game one Friday, Northwestern fought back from a 1-0 deficit for the 2-1 win. With the score tied at 1-1, junior midfielder David Roth served up a crossing pass from the left wing to Brad North in front of the near post. Battling a Hofstra defender in the air, North deflected the ball towards the center of the goal where Daniel Chille was waiting to tap it in for the game-winner. Then on Sunday, Roth snapped his 19-game scoreless streak when his goal in the 64th minute lifted the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory. Northwestern is now 7-0-1 in eight all-time Lakeside Classic games.
NU is looking to improve to 3-0 for the first time in the Tim Lenahan era this weekend. Northwestern's best start over the last six years was in 2004 when the Wildcats started 6-1-1 on their way to an NCAA Tournament bid.
David Roth played a key role in each of Northwestern's two wins last weekend. In Friday's win, Roth served up a beautiful assist that led to the game-winning goal with less than 10 minutes to play. Then on Sunday, he scored his first goal since the 2004 season when his game-winning goal from the left wing gave Northwestern a 1-0 win over Dayton--snapping a 19-game scoreless streak.
Two wins over the weekend moved the Wildcats into the 28th spot in this weeks collegesoccernews.com Top 30 poll. They are one spot behind Big Ten foe Ohio State (27) and two behind Saturday's opponent Santa Clara at No. 26.
Freshman Mark Blades established himself early and often in the Wildcat backline this weekend and in the process, picked up Lakeside Classic MVP honors. Blades' quickness, speed and athleticism in the back smothered the opposition's attack throughout both games. A Lakewood, Ohio native, Blades was the 2005 Ohio Player of the Year for Cleveland-St. Ignatius.
The Wildcats were hit hard with injuries last season, losing starting goalkeeper Justin Pines at the beginning of the season, all-Big Ten forward Gerardo Alvarez for a good part of the season and starting midfielder Will Nicholas who played in only three games. All are back this season, healthy and ready to lead Northwestern to a run at the Big Ten championship.
Sophomore Will Briley won the starting goalkeeper job in the preseason and is 2-0 on the young season with nine saves and one shutout. Briley, who has four career shutouts, shared time in goal last season with Misha Rosenthal and earned all-Big Ten freshman team honors.
There are no push-overs on this year's schedule. Twelve of the 17 teams on the regular-season slate finished last season with a winning record, with six of those teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Tim Lenahan has Northwestern's men's soccer program on the rise. The Wildcats are coming off two of the most successful seasons in program history, going a program-best 15-6-2 in 2004--which included the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament--before turning in another winning season last year (9-7-2) despite the youth and injuries.
Tim Lenahan's 2006 freshman class has been ranked the 21st best recruiting class in the country according to collegesoccernews.com. In addition, two of those incoming freshmen, Eamon O'Neill and Mark Blades, have been named among the "top 100 freshmen to keep and eye on" this season. Indiana was the only other Big Ten school ranked above Northwestern. O'Neill and Blades, both highly recruited NSCAA high school all-Americans, are part of a very talented six-member incoming class. Blades, a Lakewood, Ohio native who led his high school to two state championships, was named the 2005 Ohio Player of the Year after recording 17 career goals and 41 assists. O'Neill hails from Wilmington, Del. where he took his Salesianum High School team to three state championships, recording 69 career goals and 64 assists and was named the Delaware Player of the Year in recognition of his outstanding efforts.
Up next, the Wildcats will stay close to home when they travel to DeKalb, Ill. for the Northern Illinois University Tournament next weekend. On Friday, Northwestern will take on Bradley at 2:15 p.m. before taking on Drake at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 10.