Northwestern’s men’s soccer team met at Nicolet Football Center on Monday to find out its NCAA Tournament fate.
Decked out in their Big Ten champions gear, the Wildcats had to wait until the last section of the bracket was revealed to learn their destiny: a trip to Ohio to play defending national champion Akron on Thursday.
The announcement was followed by a moment of silence before the team erupted into applause.
“Everybody’s excited to be in the tournament,” senior midfielder Peter O’Neill said. “It’s a great honor. We’ve been playing well towards the end of the season, so we deserve to be where we are.”
Whereas NCAA Tournaments were once a given in Evanston, as NU made four straight national tournaments from 2006 to 2009, the sting of not making it in 2010 surely added to the Cats’ joy on Monday.
Ironically enough, NU’s only chance of making the NCAA Tournament last season was to win the Big Ten Tournament, after finishing under .500 in conference play. Instead, they lost 3-1 in the first round to Penn State. This season, the Cats presumably didn’t need to win the Big Ten Tournament, but they ploughed their way through regardless, downing Indiana in penalty kicks before rallying to defeat Penn State 2-1.
The Zips were 13-3-4 this season, but were tripped up by Western Michigan in the Mid-American Conference semifinals, dropping them out of a higher seeding.
“It’s a great opportunity,” senior forward Oliver Kupe said. “We were destined to play somebody great. It’s something real special that we get to play the defending national champions on their home field.”
The two teams met in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, with NU edging Akron 1-0 at Lakeside Field in the round of 16. Coach Tim Lenahan said the draw presented an equally tough challenge for both teams, as the Zips now have a date with the Big Ten regular season and tournament champion.
“It’s a tough draw for them as well,” Lenahan said. “You get the double Big Ten champion in your opening round.”
The Cats ride an 11-match unbeaten streak into the NCAA Tournament, which led them to the first regular-season and double title in school history. Despite its impressive hardware, NU will likely be on the road for the entire tournament, something that does not scare the team.
“We knew we had to go on the road eventually,” Kupe said. “There are so many great teams out there that deserve home games. We just have to handle our business.”
