Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Seven more wins result of youth movement, defense (Men’s Soccer)

Finishing a season with an 8-11, 0-6 Big Ten record isn’t something most teams would consider a worthy accomplishment.

But considering the Northwestern men’s soccer team had just one win in the 2000 and 2001 seasons combined, 8-11 doesn’t look so bad.

“The whole goal was to win some games this year and to significantly close the gap between us and the rest of the Big Ten,” Wildcats coach Tim Lenahan said.

And NU didn’t disappoint its faithful, posting an 8-5 non-conference record. The Cats’ eight wins tied them for third-best in school history.

Though NU failed to break a three-year Big Ten losing streak, the young squad, which started as many as eight freshmen at times, showed tremendous poise against conference foes. This season, the Cats held No. 5 Indiana to one goal and played eventual-Big Ten champion No. 15 Penn State to a 2-1 loss. The goal was NU’s only conference score of the season.

“This year, we basically beat all the teams we should have beat and lost to all the teams that were better than us,” midfielder Jeremy Cook said. “This year we showed that we could actually compete against the Big Ten. Now we just need to make that next step.”

The Cats’ strength this year was their defense. The only veteran unit on the field, NU’s defense held opponents to 26 regular-season goals, and goalkeeper J.D. Martin recorded seven shutouts, second best in the Big Ten. To contrast, the 2000 Cats gave up 55 goals in two fewer games.

The Cats got a boost from Martin, who spent his last year of NCAA eligibility pursuing a master’s degree in the Graduate School of Communication. The Rutgers transfer made an immediate impact, setting a new NU single-season shutout record and climbing to fifth on the career list.

“The big thing was becoming a better defensive team,” Lenahan said. “And the biggest thing about defending is a commitment to being unselfish.”

The NU defense was responsible for most of the attack, with defenders playing a role in 11 of the Cats’ 16 goals this season. With the lack of offense, Lenahan said improving the attack will be a priority in the offseason.

The Cats scored just 16 goals, fewer than one goal per game and worst in the Big Ten.

“I think offensively we need to have a little more possession,” he said. “What happens is that you give up a lot of goals because you play a lot of defense. All of our attacking players are young — (improvement) takes time.”

The Cats will remain young for the next few years. Next season, NU will have two seniors on the team, but Lenahan said the talent level is high enough that the inexperience shouldn’t matter.

“Most freshmen in the Big Ten don’t even get to step on the field. Ours have 19 games under their belts,” said Cook, a junior.

Lenahan said he will be looking to Cook, who started every game this season and was named to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, to fill the leadership void left by tri-captains Paul Elkins, Steve Jedlinski and Martin.

Cook was key for the Cats’ defense in the midfield, marking the opposition’s top players. Cook’s defense held the Big Ten’s top-two points leaders — Indiana’s Pat Noonan and Penn State’s Chad Severs — scoreless.

Modeling himself after Jedlinski’s ironman presence on the field — the senior defender missed just one start in three years — Cook said he is ready to assume the role of captain.

“Steve was the model of consistency,” Cook said. “As underclassmen, you look at what he does and try to emulate that. Hopefully, I’ll be able to provide that to the younger guys the next season.”

NU also bids farewell to seniors Dave DeHorn, Doug Gibson and Justin Lesch, who were relegated to the bench for most of the season. But toward the end of the year, when experience mattered heading into the playoffs, all three came off the bench to play what Jedlinski considers the best soccer of their careers.

“It was tough to see the guys you’ve been playing with all four years stuck on the bench,” he said. “But at the same time, they were there pushing for this team to do well. If this team does well, they know they were a big part of it.”

With six commitments for next season and a crop of young talent, Lenahan said he believes the Cats will only continue to improve.

“I think we’re going to win every game,” he said.

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Seven more wins result of youth movement, defense (Men’s Soccer)