Five years ago, Northwestern could only dream of having a whiff of the success of Indiana’s program.
But on Sunday the No. 6 Wildcats will not just be dreaming of competing with the No. 13 Hoosiers. NU (9-1-1, 2-1-0 Big Ten) will be looking to defeat Indiana (7-4-1, 2-0-0) for the second time in school history and possibly take first place in the Big Ten.
“A win over Indiana would pretty much seal the deal and get us into the NCAA tournament,” senior defender Matt Witt said. “It would put us in good position in the Big Ten to go into the Big Ten Tournament and maybe get the bye in the first round. In a way, it would be a championship for everyone in that game.”
The Big Ten coaches voted the Cats to finish second in the conference behind the Hoosiers in a preseason poll.
But the two teams have completely different histories in the sport.
The Hoosiers have won 12 Big Ten regular-season championships and 11 conference tournament titles. The Hoosiers also have seven NCAA championships – the most recent in 2004.
The Cats reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament last season with a 14-8-0 record, the second best in team history and the furthest the team has reached in the NCAA tournament.
NU has an all-time record of 1-20-1 against Indiana.
“We tied (Indiana) here two years ago,” coach Tim Lenahan said. “We just want to play well. It should be a good game. I just really want to play well and represent ourselves in front of the alumni and parents and make it a special day out here.”
When Lenahan arrived in Evanston in 2001, the Cats were coming off a 0-17-1 season. NU had only four wins in the first 10 years of men’s soccer in the Big Ten, which started play in 1991. The team had never reached the NCAA tournament.
Since then the Cats have reached the tournament twice.
But they have failed to win the school’s first Big Ten title.
“I think people around the country are still having a hard time believing that we’re a premier team,” said junior defender Drew Ratner, who is day-to-day after sustaining a concussion in NU’s 2-1 win against DePaul on Wednesday. “Getting a win over a powerhouse program like Indiana really, I think, helps us. Even though we’ve been doing it all this year, people are still like, ‘Wait until they play big teams.’ Once we can beat Indiana and get that huge highlighted win on our schedule, I think it would be a huge win.”
The Cats still have a lot of games before they can think about playing in the Big Ten tournament. Lenahan said NU is “not good enough to look ahead,” despite its high ranking.
The Cats are a young program finding sustained success for the first time. Witt said the players on NU’s bench coming through the program will help keep the team at a high level for years to come.
“Like us, (Indiana has) a bunch of good players on the bench that could play on most teams in the country,” Witt said. “When they get in next year or the year after, I don’t think they’re going to skip a beat from what we’ve been able to do this year and last year. I think it’s just a matter of time. We’re consistently in there with Indiana. I think that will show the next two or three years when we continue that success.”
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