Friday, August 24
Evanston, Ill.
7:00 p.m.
Northwestern
vs
Cleveland State
'Cats Begin 2018 Campaign Hosting Cleveland State, Xavier
8/23/2018 4:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer
EVANSTON Ill. – Northwestern officially opens the new season this week at Martin Stadium against Cleveland State on Friday and Xavier on Sunday.
Kickoff for Friday against Cleveland State is set at 7 p.m., while the contest against Xavier on Sunday is set to begin at 4 p.m.
Cleveland State went 7-10-2 in its 2017 campaign with a fifth place finish in the Horizon League. NU and Cleveland State have split in their two meetings all-time with the 'Cats taking a 4-0 win the last time out in 2010. The Vikings were picked to finish fifth in the 2018 Horizon League coaches poll.
Xavier posted a 11-6-3 mark last season and reached the title match of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers return 21 letterwinners, including eight starters. Xavier will play Cincinnati Christian on Friday night before traveling to Martin Stadium on Sunday.
Tim Lenahan enters his 18th season as Northwestern's head coach. He returns ten starters from last year's squad, including the second-highest returning goal scorer in the Big Ten in sophomore Tommy Katsiyiannis and unanimous selection to the Big Ten's All Freshmen Team Garrett Opperman.
Senior Camden Buescher joined Katsiyiannis and Opperman in earning Big Ten preseason honors. Buescher enters his senior campaign having seen action in 54 career games with 51 career starts. The Toledo, Ohio, native started all 19 matches last season and finished with a team-best four assists. He scored a pair of game-winning goals in 2017 to help NU top Western Illinois and DePaul.
Four players combined for five goals in the team's two preseason contests. Junior Mac Mazzola and sophomore Drew Viscomi scored against Saint Joseph's to help NU to a 2-2 draw, while Mattias Tomasino found the back of the net twice and Bardia Kimiavi once to put the 'Cats ahead of Rider in a 3-1 win.
The 'Cats will have options in net with seniors Robbie White and Braden Thuraisingham in addition to sophomore Miha Miskovic.
White started ten games last season, the most for any NU goalie in 2017, and tallied 55 saves and two shutouts. White is the returning leader in Division I for saves per game with 5.50. Miskovic saw action in six games, while making four starts. He tallied 18 saves in his rookie campaign.
Opperman will be anchoring the backline, alongside returners John Moderwell, Jake Roberge, Andrew McLeod and Ben Miller. Tomasino, Viscomi and Katysiannis return to lead the midfielders.
Mazzola and Ty Seager return as the leading goal scorers of the forwards. Mazzola was the team's second leading scorer last season, while Seager scored the game winning goal in overtime in last year's season opener against Valparaiso.
In addition to returning 10 starters, Coach Lenahan and his staff added six newcomers in the latest recruiting class, which finished ranked No. 25 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. The class features Richie Bennett, Jayson Cyrus, Jose Del Valle, Bardia Kimiavi, Connor McCabe and Julian Zighelboim.
Northwestern has not lost a season opener in the last four seasons dating back to 2014. Last year, the 'Cats defeated Valparaiso 2-1 in the first match of the season.
Kickoff for Friday against Cleveland State is set at 7 p.m., while the contest against Xavier on Sunday is set to begin at 4 p.m.
Cleveland State went 7-10-2 in its 2017 campaign with a fifth place finish in the Horizon League. NU and Cleveland State have split in their two meetings all-time with the 'Cats taking a 4-0 win the last time out in 2010. The Vikings were picked to finish fifth in the 2018 Horizon League coaches poll.
Xavier posted a 11-6-3 mark last season and reached the title match of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers return 21 letterwinners, including eight starters. Xavier will play Cincinnati Christian on Friday night before traveling to Martin Stadium on Sunday.
Tim Lenahan enters his 18th season as Northwestern's head coach. He returns ten starters from last year's squad, including the second-highest returning goal scorer in the Big Ten in sophomore Tommy Katsiyiannis and unanimous selection to the Big Ten's All Freshmen Team Garrett Opperman.
Senior Camden Buescher joined Katsiyiannis and Opperman in earning Big Ten preseason honors. Buescher enters his senior campaign having seen action in 54 career games with 51 career starts. The Toledo, Ohio, native started all 19 matches last season and finished with a team-best four assists. He scored a pair of game-winning goals in 2017 to help NU top Western Illinois and DePaul.
Four players combined for five goals in the team's two preseason contests. Junior Mac Mazzola and sophomore Drew Viscomi scored against Saint Joseph's to help NU to a 2-2 draw, while Mattias Tomasino found the back of the net twice and Bardia Kimiavi once to put the 'Cats ahead of Rider in a 3-1 win.
The 'Cats will have options in net with seniors Robbie White and Braden Thuraisingham in addition to sophomore Miha Miskovic.
White started ten games last season, the most for any NU goalie in 2017, and tallied 55 saves and two shutouts. White is the returning leader in Division I for saves per game with 5.50. Miskovic saw action in six games, while making four starts. He tallied 18 saves in his rookie campaign.
Opperman will be anchoring the backline, alongside returners John Moderwell, Jake Roberge, Andrew McLeod and Ben Miller. Tomasino, Viscomi and Katysiannis return to lead the midfielders.
Mazzola and Ty Seager return as the leading goal scorers of the forwards. Mazzola was the team's second leading scorer last season, while Seager scored the game winning goal in overtime in last year's season opener against Valparaiso.
In addition to returning 10 starters, Coach Lenahan and his staff added six newcomers in the latest recruiting class, which finished ranked No. 25 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. The class features Richie Bennett, Jayson Cyrus, Jose Del Valle, Bardia Kimiavi, Connor McCabe and Julian Zighelboim.
Northwestern has not lost a season opener in the last four seasons dating back to 2014. Last year, the 'Cats defeated Valparaiso 2-1 in the first match of the season.
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