After watching the Northwestern men’s soccer team limp to a 1-13-3 finish in 2001, high schooler Sammy Semwangu nearly decided against attending NU. He wasn’t too impressed by the team’s losing ways.
But that didn’t go over too well with the Wildcats’ head coach, Tim Lenahan.
“I said, ‘Tell me where you’re committing and I’ll make sure we’ll get them on the schedule three years from now,” Lenahan said. “We’ll kick their butt.”‘
That was enough to convince Semwangu, a midfielder, to join NU’s budding soccer program. Just as Lenahan predicted two years ago, the Cats have improved greatly since the 2001 season.
NU (3-2-4, 0-0-1 Big Ten) ended its 22-game conference losing streak Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Michigan State. They still haven’t won a conference game since 1999, but this is the closest they have been since Lenahan arrived in Evanston, prior to the 2001 season.
Since his arrival, Lenahan has emphasized recruiting to improve his team. Of the 23 players on this year’s squad, all but three were recruited by Lenahan.
But because of NU’s losing records and the team’s financial limitations, it has not been easy. According to Lenahan, NU’s team has five scholarships to distribute per year, while other Big Ten schools have 9.9 at their disposal. As a result, no one on the team receives a full ride to NU.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Lenahan from bringing in some top high school talent to Evanston, especially because the school is academically superior to others in the Big Ten.
“You never have to discount a Mercedes — that’s what I tell the kids,” Lenahan said. “There’s more value in our product.”
Although it doesn’t have the financial resources of other schools, NU tries to make up for it by showing recruits how they will fit into the Cats’ soccer program. Most current players recall getting a barrage of emails from NU assistant coach Erik Ronning during their senior year of high school.
“He didn’t overdo it that much,”sophomore Brad Napper said about the weekly emails. “He spaced them out, he sent them to all the recruits. It was perfect — they showed interest, but they weren’t too anxious.”
While the recruits visit NU before they commit to the school, they’re not always sure what they’re getting themselves into. Recently, one of his players told Lenahan he chose NU because of its academic prowess — and its proximity to the ocean.
“I’m like, ‘that’s a Lake,'” Lenahan said. “Those are East Coast guys. Our East Coast guys think because you can’t see to the other side, it must be an ocean.”
But many of Lenahan’s recruits come from Illinois, especially the Chicago area, which is a hotbed of soccer talent. Those players are usually familiar with NU’s strong academic reputation and are comfortable playing close to home, Lenahan said. This year’s most talented offensive freshman, Gerardo Alvarez, joined the Cats from Marmion Academy in Aurora.
Since Lenahan considers NU to be a “national school,” the Cats have a handful of players from outside the midwest, including Napper.
Napper, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas, had never played in such cold weather before. NU’s soccer stadium, located in the Leonard B. Thomas Sports Complex, is just a few hundred yards from Lake Michigan.
“When that wind starts whipping through there, it’s rough,” he said. “You’ve got to deal with it, suck it up a little bit.”
