With schools nationwide cutting their soccer program due to funding restrictions, Michigan went another route — it actually added a team.

Thanks to the generosity of the Wolverines athletic department — and their successful football team — Michigan became the Big Ten’s seventh men’s soccer team in 2000.

“We won a National Championship in football in 1997 and there was a strong sense of income,” Michigan coach Steve Burns said. “The coffers were full, so it was easy to take the step forward.”

Despite starting from scratch, the Wolverines (9-4-0, 2-2-0 Big ten) have compiled a 36-28-3 record during their three year-plus history. They have won four straight games against the Wildcats, (5-4-4, 0-2-1) including a 5-0 drubbing in 2002. In those games, Northwestern has been outscored 9-1.

The Cats, who entered the Big Ten nine years before Michigan, are looking to defeat the Wolverines today when the two teams meet in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Although the Wolverines have played well this year, both Michigan and NU are building their soccer programs for sustained success. That makes today’s game a matchup between teams that see themselves as the future leaders of the conference.

The Cats started their soccer program in 1978, but didn’t receive enough funding to remain competitive until 2001, Tim Lenahan’s first year at NU. As a result, Lenahan says the Cats are one year behind the Wolverines in the rebuilding process.

“We know that Northwestern would like nothing more than to knock us off and say ‘We’re hot on the heels of Michigan as an up and coming team in the Big Ten,'” Burns said.

Three years into their soccer program, the Wolverines now field a stronger team than NU. They feature midfielder Knox Cameron, the Big Ten’s reigning Offensive Player of the Week, and Mychal Turbin, who has scored four goals in two different games.

It’s been easy for Burns to recruit top-tier athletes to come to Michigan, since the state is full of suburban soccer players. NU sophomore Alexander Renzi was one of those players, but he chose not to attend his home state school.

“I wanted to change it up,” Renzi said. “I had lived there my whole life. But there’s nothing bad about Michigan.”

Burns hasn’t lost too many in-state recruiting battles with NU, partly because he can give twice as many scholarships and because Lenahan concentrates on bringing in players from Illinois.

While Burns said he wants to see NU increase its financial commitment to soccer, he said the Cats should be able to compete with the rest of the Big Ten.

“Soccer is still a suburban sport, so you can attract the kid who values education,” Burns said. “With Northwestern being such a strong school, it’s easy to recruit players.”

Despite Burns’ suggestion about NU’s funding, Lenahan said he doesn’t need more money to attract recruits.

“We are Northwestern,” he said. “We’re as big-time of a program as anyone else.”