Northwestern completed the final step in its preparations to build a new soccer and lacrosse field on July 5. Athletic Director Mark Murphy announced the new field will use FieldTurf for the new Lakeside Field.
After months of construction and weeks of training, the Wildcats will play their first game on the new Lakeside Field today against Loyola.
NU played its first two “home” games of the year at Loyola and on its old grass field.
“I’m pretty excited actually,” senior midfielder David Roth said. “The field is nice. The bleachers are all set. Everyone is eager to play on it. Everyone wants to be the first one to get a goal on the new field.”
The No. 3 Cats (6-0-1) have been practicing on their new field or at the football practice field, which also uses FieldTurf, for three weeks. Players said they have noticed the differences between natural grass and the new field.
Sophomore goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal said the synthetic material creates a perfect playing surface.
“The ball moves flat,” Rosenthal said. “It’s going to fall true the whole way. There’s no pot hole that’s going to pop the ball up and move the direction of the ball. We just know that we can play quick and do our thing and not worry about any other factors.”
The ball also moves faster on the new field. Coach Tim Lenahan said this suits his team’s style of play as NU likes using quick combinations to attack.
Nine players have scored for the Cats so far this season. Only three of the Cats’ 18 goals have been unassisted.
FieldTurf is a synthetic material that acts like grass. Ground-up rubber – like the rubber used in tires – is put between the grass granules to act like dirt. The difference is the grass doesn’t get worn down with use. It’s like playing on a freshly grown field every time.
“The surface is so true all the time,” Lenahan said. “With grass and three teams being on the grass the whole time it’s just impossible. It’s not like a wood floor in basketball or volleyball. It’s just impossible to keep a grass field – with practice and games – even. That’s why this surface is becoming so popular, particularly in the northern part of the country and in a tight landlocked area.”
The playing surface has become very popular around the country. Similar playing surfaces can be found in college football stadiums like Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and at Major League Soccer stadiums like BMO Field in Toronto and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
The Cats were 8-1 at home last season.
NU had a strong showing on the grass field at Ohio State last Saturday, and Roth admitted the team has to transition from playing on grass to the synthetic material. Roth said the Cats have become a turf team since they started training on the new field.
“I think having one day to practice on the field again is going to help,” Roth said. “We know turf better than we know grass right now. So we’re ready to go.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
