At least one group of Northwestern students wasn’t watching Saturday when the Wildcats football team shocked Wisconsin.

It seems the NU men’s soccer team had other plans.

Having not played a game in more than a week, the Cats were dying to get back onto the field for a battle. The only problem was they only had themselves to play.

“It was a great decision for us to scrimmage,” said sophomore midfielder Steven Jedlinski. “I was exhausted but satisfied out there. We were playing the best I’ve seen in awhile.”

The Cats played 90 minutes in the rain, conditioning themselves during the 11-day layoff that precedes a stretch of five games in 11 days.

“We played with intensity like it was a real game,” said sophomore midfielder Paul Elkins. “Now all our engines are firing.”

Just three days earlier, rain canceled NU’s game at DePaul. The Cats had gone through their pre-game preparations, and came out dressed and ready to face the physical Blue Demons on a sloppy playing field.

But before the team could get in a bump or a slide tackle against its opponents, the game was canceled because the field hadn’t been covered during the rain storm that hit the Chicago area.

The next day, NU was notified that the game, which had been rescheduled for Friday, wouldn’t go on at all.

So the Cats, 0-6 on the season, wouldn’t have the chance for revenge on a DePaul team that had beaten them two straight years. Worse still, the Blue Demons hadn’t won a game either, meaning both teams would have to wait for the chance to post their first wins.

“All we needed was more time to think about being 0-6,” said senior goalkeeper Chris Berlin.

With their next game hardly in sight, thinking about the season was all the Cats could do that night. And the team chose the proper venue for such contemplation.

“After the (rainout) we all went to Wendy’s,” Jedlinsky said. “The mood was pretty bitter and sour. It was a shame for us because coming into that game I hadn’t felt the camaraderie so high on our team before. It threw off our whole playing schedule.”

Said Elkins: “We were all let down when we heard the news. We knew the field wasn’t playable but it would have been a great chance for us to get a win. We used this feeling to fuel our intensity this week in practice.”

Concentrating on ball control and guarding tighter on defense, the team used the lengthy break to stay in shape and to fix the problems that have plagued the team during its dismal start.

“The coaches stressed tougher defense during practice,” Elkins said. “We can’t even begin to worry about what we do with the ball until we get the ball. We’re giving up stupid goals.”

Now, NU’s players now must hope the same intensity and confidence surface while facing Wisconsin Green-Bay (5-4) today.

The Cats have a 5-4-1 all-time record against the Phoenix and handled the team last year in a win that started NU’s late-season streak of five victories in six games.

Needless to say, the Cats hope history repeats itself at Lakeside Field.

“We know we’ve beaten this team before,” Berlin said. “It’s definitely a factor for us. I know we’ll be ready to go.”