Men’s soccer coach Tim Lenahan went out on a limb last year and guaranteed a victory for the woeful band of brothers that comprised the team in 2001.
Unfortunately for him, the Wildcats didn’t exactly come through with a win against Western Michigan. In fact, all Northwestern got was a 2-1 loss, bringing the team’s winless streak to an impressive 32-straight matches.
But all that is forgotten – or at least put on the back burner – with this season’s turnaround. The team-that-couldn’t-win is now 4-4 with three of the four losses coming at the hands of teams ranked in the Top 25.
And Lenahan clearly has confidence in his Cats, especially the new recruits. These kids have little collegiate experience and no first-hand knowledge of the infamous two-season-long streak.
“For every kid, we sold the dream of not only what Northwestern can become, but what it will become,” Lenahan said in a voice that betrayed no doubt his team would continue to improve.
Besides the the baby faces in the lineup, there are other noticeable differences at Lakeside Field. At the Northern Illinois game, the crowd (and there actually was a crowd) openly cheered. The embarrassment associated with attending a men’s soccer game has all but disappeared. The Cats actually seem to have – gasp – fans. And they’re not even wearing paper bags over their heads.
Lenahan has done what seemed impossible only a year ago. He compiled a recruiting class ranked 28th by College Soccer News and snagged a transfer goalie who graduated from No. 19 Rutgers with one year of eligibility left. J.D. Martin, who is currently pursuing a masters degree in organizational communications, has been a stabilizing force and a mature voice among players less than three months removed from their own graduation exercises.
Martin and the new-look Cats are playing like they know they can win. While they don’t quite have a swagger yet – a .500 record isn’t really anything to brag about – they don’t have the defeated look from the opening kickoff to the final whistle that they did last year.
“We set our goals high,” Martin said after the victory over the Huskies. “We wanted to break the losing streak on this field. We want to win every game. We have the mindset to win every game.”
Easy for Martin to say. He didn’t have to suffer through nearly two years of a losing streak. He was over in New Jersey winning game after game – 15 in 2001 alone – while the Cats won just one.
But he’s not the only one who missed all those defeats. Just six players on the current roster experienced both years of the streak.
Maybe that’s why the attitude by the lake is changing – more than half the team has experienced the Cats only as they are this season.
“Newness is good because it’s been refreshing,” Lenahan said. “These guys are here as the vision of building a good soccer program.”
While Lenahan spent much of last season emphasizing NU’s lack of talent, he seems to have corrected that problem.
“The freshmen we have in, (the upperclassmen) would admit, are more talented than they were as freshmen,” Lenahan said.
And the results in the early season seem to be proving Lenahan right. Raw ability apparently is translating into victories – at least so far.
Clearly the Cats aren’t ready to face any of the Big Ten’s big boys. (They’ll be crushed by powerhouse Indiana when they visit the Hoosiers on Oct. 13.) But the team is winning against non-conference foes for now, and that’s reason enough for optimism.
The embarrassment on Lakeside Field has been replaced this season by a new and revamped squad complete with confidence, playmaking ability and, most importantly, a few victories.
So, soccer fans, it appears to be OK to come out of the woodwork. And, yes, you can take that paper bag off your head now.
