Winning isn’t the most important thing for the Northwestern men’s soccer team anymore.
“Everyone loves to win,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “It’s not the people who love to win who are successful — it’s the people who hate to lose.”
To instill this hatred of defeat among his players, Lenahan has instituted team drills in practice where the losing group faces penalties.
“It makes you work harder,” sophomore Mike Trudell said. “I can’t stand to lose anything — not even a game of checkers or rock, paper, scissors. Losing has to hurt so bad that you never want to do it again.”
The intense discipline is a change for the 0-4-2 Wildcats, coming because of Lenahan’s arrival as head coach this year.
Last season, under head coach Michael Kunert, the team didn’t experience the same attention to detail that they do now.
“(Kunert) was much more lackadaisical,” Trudell said. “He knew the game well, but it seemed like he wasn’t concerned with the details. We’re much more aware now. We’re always thinking about what we’re going to do next.”
During NU’s 0-17-1 campaign last year, the players stopped believing in themselves and in their ability to win.
The attitude has changed, but the Cats still have a long way to go.
“Last year we got into a funk,” Trudell said. “We knew we were better than some teams, but (during games) we were just expecting something to go wrong.”
But the confidence is returning for NU, at least in its defensive ability, Lenahan said.
“If we had given up one less goal in each game, we’d only have lost one game,” Lenahan said of the 2001 campaign. “You can compare us to the Baltimore Ravens. We’re a good defensive team, but we need to be a great defensive team.”
Lenahan is not just focusing on improving this year’s team. He is already looking at next year and the new recruiting class — even with 10 games still remaining on the 2001 schedule.
“We’re going to put a lot into player development over the next few years,” Lenahan said. “No one in the country has recruited harder than we have.”
Lenahan expects more than 30 official visits from high school seniors this year. In the class of 2005, the Cats have five recruits and five walk-ons.
The Cats’ new focus on defense and details will have to play itself in today’s home match against Illinois-Chicago (3-3), an NCAA tournament team from a year ago.
The Flames are coming off a 3-2 upset of No. 22 Bradley and have beaten NU the past three years.
Last season, Illinois-Chicago won 2-1 on a late header by the Flames’ Steve Collins.
“We can’t make any mistakes,” Trudell said of this year’s contest. “If we can squeeze out a (win or a tie), that would be good for team morale.”
Trudell said the Cats — who are 0-2 in conference play — have to take advantage of their limited chances to score and can’t beat themselves, citing the team’s three own goals this year as a major problem.
He said no NU player has ever been on a team that has scored more than one own goal.
Despite the struggles, Trudell is hopeful.
“We think we can win if we play very well,” Trudell said. “We want to get this monkey off our back.”
One of the few positives for the game is its location — in Evanston.
“We’re undefeated at home, for what it’s worth,” Lenahan said.
The Cats are 0-0-2 at Lakeside Field and 0-4-0 on the road.
