Finding the back of the net in soccer is no easy task. In the U.S., one of the few countries in the world where the beautiful game does not reign supreme, the infrequent scoring is often reason to switch the channel from fútbol to football.
But if Northwestern forward Matt Eliason is playing, you might just want to stay tuned.The junior has already tallied 30 career goals, enough to tie him for first place on NU’s all-time scoring list. And Eliason doesn’t just score goals, he scores big goals: 16 of his contributions in the last three years were game winners.
“What makes him a good forward is that he scores goals, it’s that simple,” NU coach Tim Lenahan said. “How does he do it so well? He does it because he has a very quick release. But of course any forward can start coming up short at some point.”
Eliason will look to polish his golden touch this summer when he plays with the prestigious Chicago Fire Premier Development League (PDL). The team is a breeding ground for American talent, providing a summer league for college players who are “the stars of their college teams,” the Fire’s development coach Larry Sunderland said, including former NU standout All American Mark Blades. Notable alumni of the squad include U.S. national team members Ricardo Clark and Jonathon Spector. Eliason said he is using the program to hone his skills for the fall season, when NU hopes to make a run to the NCAA championship. No. 9 NU’s championship dreams were dashed earlier than the team hoped last season in a loss No. 8 Tulsa in the third round of the tournament.
“The guys at the PDL level just play at such a fast pace,” Eliason said. “Before they even pass the ball to you, you’ve got to know exactly what you’re going to do with it before you get it. I try to bring that pace to my college game too, and hopefully that will help (NU) out next season.”
Eliason played with the U-20’s and super-20’s Chicago premier league team in past summers, but the PDL is a cut above the previous level of play. When he moved up to the PDL last summer, Eliason was forced to alternate between outside midfielder and forward to see playing time. Eliason matched up against the fast footwork of players like Harvard’s Andre Akpan, who earned All American honors and finished his college career with 47 goals.
When Eliason returned to college scene in the fall where his playing time was guaranteed, Lenahan said Eliason got right to work. The striker had the best season of his career in 2009, netting 13 goals and dishing out 16 assists to post the fourth-best single-season statistics in program history.
“Last season was definitely a showcase of how hard Matt has worked,” Lenahan said. “You know his first season he played great but probably ran out of gas at about nine games. His second season it was about 13 games. Last season about 18 games. Now he’s got to find the ability to finish out the whole season.”
Sunderland agreed that Eliason’s game has become quicker and more consistent in college and during his time with the premier league program. Sunderland, who has known Eliason since he was in high school, said the junior has the soft touch and deceptive speed of a lethal forward, which gives him the edge he needs to convert in front of the net.But it’s too soon to tell if he would thrive on the professional scene.
“Matt has an extremely high soccer IQ,” Sunderland said. ” Being a forward is such a mental thing, it’s so game to game that it’s really too soon to tell. I think Matt and I will both know better at the end of this (PDL) season. Certainly the potential is all there.”
Striker is the sort of position that produces prima donnas, a fact Eliason is well aware of. He said he tries walk the fine line between confident and cocky. Scoring goals requires a selfish mentality, but Eliason will be stepping into a new leadership position for NU in his senior season as well-one that Lenahan says requires a different mentality than the one Eliason uses to slot the ball past keepers.
“Look, I want Matt to score goals,” Sunderland said. “Matt wants to score goals. The team wants Matt to score goals. He knows the kind of leadership that we also need from him that requires him to think about the whole team. I think he’s ready for that role. He’s ready to contribute more than just goals.”[email protected]
