The bar was set high in 2005 for Northwestern.

After reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history in 2004, NU returned all 11 starters in 2005 and entered the season with its first preseason rankings, No. 17 in the College Soccer News poll and No. 24 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Based on early expectations, the season was a disappointment. The Wildcats (9-7-2, 1-4-1) fell short of the NCAA tournament and finished last in the Big Ten.

But based on where the 10 seniors began four seasons ago, the disappointment with not reaching the national championships shows just how far this team has come.

“We went from having an RPI of 187 out of 200 teams four years ago to being on the NCAA tournament bubble this year,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “If you would have told me that four years ago, I would have done cartwheels.”

Heading into the regular season finale against Wisconsin, NU had a chance to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Cats suffered a 2-1 defeat against the Badgers and followed it up with a 1-0 loss against Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

There would be no NCAA tournament for the Cats.

“We spent a lot of energy getting to the point that we were at,” Lenahan said. “In three years we went from nothing to where we were in the NCAA tournament. I could tell this year that we didn’t have the same energy.”

NU also was hit hard by injuries.

Within the first four games, NU lost for the season its starting goalkeeper, junior Justin Pines, and its starting midfielder, junior Will Nicholas.

Meanwhile junior midfielders Daniel Chille and Gerardo Alvarez spent time on the bench early in the season with injuries.

“Five of our seven losses were by one goal,” Lenahan said. “Not to make excuses, but you have to figure that somewhere in those losses one of those guys would have had an impact.”

Before the season, Alvarez was on the watch list for the Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top player.

Lenahan said the midfielder never reached full strength this season, but Alvarez stayed in the lineup because of his ability on set pieces.

Alvarez was the second leading scorer on the team, scoring three goals and picking up five assists. But his numbers did not come close to the 12 goals and nine assists he had in 2004.

“It was a year when a lot of things went wrong,” Lenahan said. “The whole season could have been tanked, but it wasn’t. We were still in contention at the end of the year. I was proud of that.”

Lenahan said the leadership of his seniors, particularly his two senior captains, kept the team within striking distance of an NCAA tournament bid.

One captain, Brad Napper, became the first NU player to receive first team All-Big Ten honors in two different seasons. Napper also holds the Big Ten record for goals scored by a defender with 13 in his career.

The other senior captain, midfielder Jaro Pylypczak was the Cats’ iron man. He did not miss a game in his NU career, starting all 81.

With the departure of 10 seniors, the Cats will have to replace the heart and leadership, but they won’t be short on talent.

This season showed the success won’t be short-lived with a strong corps returning next season.

The Cats’ three top scorers were juniors: forward Brad North, Alvarez and midfielder John Carlstedt. Sophomore midfielder David Roth led the Cats in assists with six.

North established himself as one of the best strikers in the Big Ten, scoring nine goals and picking up first team All-Big Ten honors. Roth, who was named second team All-Big Ten, finished the season in a tie with Alvarez for career assists at NU with 20.

The season did not go as planned. The Cats did not reach expectations in 2005, but the accomplishments of this group, especially the seniors, will not be forgotten.

To put the last four years in perspective, Lenahan said, “We climbed the mountain but didn’t quite reach the summit.”

Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].