Oct. 19, 2007

NU Men's Soccer Game Notes vs. Michigan in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Ninth-ranked Northwestern will attempt to get back in the win column as it travels to Michigan for a Big Ten men's soccer contest at 6 p.m. Central time Saturday evening in Ann Arbor. The Wildcats will try to respond from a 1-0 home loss to No. 13 Indiana Sunday.

Gametracker is expected to be available to follow the contest online. The link can be accessed through NUsports.com.

Series History
Michigan leads, 9-6-1. Northwestern has won four of the last five meetings, including a pair of victories in the Big Ten tournament.
Last meeting: The Wildcats defeated the Wolverines 2-0 Oct. 15, 2006 in Evanston. Brad North and Kyle Moore each notched first-half goals in the victory.

Scouting Michigan
After opening the season 8-0-1, the Wolverines (9-4-1, 0-2-1 Big Ten) dropped four straight contests before getting back on track with a 5-2 win over Bowling Green Wednesday. Michigan broke out in a big way after failing to tally in their previous three matches. Jake Stacy leads the Wolverines with 15 points, including ranking second in the Big Ten with nine assists. Perica Marosevic has a team-high five goals for Michigan. In goal, Patrick Sperry has recorded six shutouts this season and has a 1.23 goals-against average. The Wolverines are No. 8 in the current NSCAA Great Lakes Region rankings.

Indiana Holds Off Wildcats 1-0 in Battle of Big Ten Leaders
In a battle for Big Ten supremacy, Indiana's goal in the 26th minute proved to be enough as the Hoosiers held off host Northwestern 1-0 Sunday at Lakeside Field. Daniel Kelly recorded the lone tally of the match for 13th-ranked Indiana. The two teams entered the contest atop the Big Ten Conference standings. The Wildcats earned a number of quality scoring chances in the second half, but were never able to post the tying score as IU goalkeeper Chay Cain made a numerous big saves. Indiana finished with a slim 14-12 advantage in shots.

Extra, Extra...Read All About It!
Northwestern sophomore midfielder/defender Mark Blades is currently the subject of a feature story on the Big Ten Conference's website, bigten.org. Blades was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection and a College Soccer News Freshman All-America Third Team pick a year ago. This year, Blades has two goals and an assist for the Wildcats and has helped them post seven shutouts.

Wildcats Fall Slightly in National Rankings
Northwestern took a slight drop in the national polls this week following its loss to Indiana Sunday. The Wildcats moved down three spots from No. 6 to No. 9 in the NSCAA top 25, and remained ranked second in the Great Lakes Region behind only Notre Dame. NU fell five spot to No. 11 in the SoccerTimes.com rankings after being No. 6 last week.