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When Tim Lenahan was hired at Northwestern prior to the 2001 season, he had already displayed a keen ability to build programs -- first at his alma mater, Richard Stockton College, then at Lafayette College. And after six seasons in Evanston and two NCAA Tournament appearances in the past three years, not only has the reputation been cemented, Lenahan has proven himself to be one of the premier college coaches in the game today. Lenahan inherited a program that went winless in 2000, and it was not until the final game of his opening season that he got his first victory. However, in the five years since then, the Northwestern program has made itself into a force to be reckoned with both in the Big Ten and nationally. Over the past four seasons, Lenahan's 'Cats have amassed 45 victories, which included 15 and 14-win seasons in 2004 and 2006 -- advancing to the NCAA Tournament both years. But Lenahan and the 'Cats weren't just content on making the tournament. They wanted to prove they belonged. In 2004 they advanced to the second round with a 1-1 record. Then last season, Northwestern won its first three games, knocking off perennial soccer power Saint Louis on its home turf along the way, before falling to the eventual national champion UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA quarterfinals by one goal -- one win away from the NCAA College Cup.
Last season was perhaps the most historic and magical seasons these parts have witnessed. Lenahan led the Wildcats to 14 victories, highlighted by the aforementioned run in the NCAA Tournament, going farther than any team in school history. Northwestern picked up some big victories in the regular season with wins over Hofstra, UC Irvine, Michigan, Northern Illinois and Ohio State -- NU's first win over the Buckeyes in 13 years. Those wins helped NU to its second NCAA bid in three years, defeating Cincinnati, Saint Louis and UNC Greensboro in the first three rounds. The Wildcats finished eighth in the final national rankings -- their highest ranking ever. Some well-deserved hardware followed after the season. Dave Roth was named to the 2006 Soccer America Men's College MVP team -- the equivalent of a first team All-America honor -- and Mark Blades was named to the freshman All-America team by College Soccer News. Brad North and Roth were named to the all-Big Ten first team while Carl Pett was named to the second team. Pett also joined Blades on the all-freshman team. Last January, North became the first Wildcat to be drafted in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Superdraft, which consists of the first four rounds. He was drafted 24th overall by D.C. United. In 2004, Northwestern rocketed onto the national scene to complete one of college soccer's most remarkable turnarounds. Lenahan led NU to the program's best-ever season with a 15-6-2 record, a run to the Big Ten Tournament championship match and the second round of the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament. NU's third-place finish in the Big Ten was the school's highest. The 'Cats ended up atop the league in goals, assists and total points scored. The 15 wins were the Wildcats' most ever over Division I opponents and included in that total were wins at then-No. 3 and eventual national champion Indiana as well as over then-No. 12 Penn State. The victories were the first-ever against those schools for Northwestern while the win at IU snapped the Hoosiers' three-year, 31-game home winning streak and nine-year, 50-match regular season conference winning streak. For his efforts, Lenahan was named the NSCAA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year, his second Regional Coach of the Year honor. He also landed sophomore Gerardo Alvarez (first-team) and junior Brad Napper (third-team) on the All-Region squad -- NU's first such accolades in program history. Napper also became just the second Wildcat to be named first-team All-Big Ten.
Lenahan's Wildcats had another solid year in 2005, turning in a 9-7-2 overall record, with five of those seven defeats coming by just one goal. Northwestern started the season off on the right note, winning four of its first six matches and took eighth-ranked Indiana to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 16 in front of nearly 1,000 fans at home. Brad Napper and Brad North both were named first-team All-Big Ten, while David Roth was named to the second team. Will Briley, who split time with Rosenthal filling in for injured starting goalkeeper Justin Pines, garnered All-Freshman team honors. Napper ended his career in 2005 as the only two-time first team All-Big Ten player in program history and was a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection. Back in January, Napper became the first Northwestern player to be drafted into the MLS, selected by FC Dallas in the second round of the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. Northwestern brought itself one step closer to its NCAA Tournament goal in 2003. Armed with another solid recruiting class that scored 17 of the Wildcats' 26 goals, Lenahan's team finished with a 7-7-6 mark. It was the first .500 season by a Northwestern men's soccer team since 1988; in fact, the 'Cats were not below .500 at any point during the second half of the season. The team also set a school record for ties in a season, and despite putting newcomers in the goal behind a still-young squad the 'Cats pitched four shutouts and allowed just 30 goals. Lenahan's 2003 squad also made significant strides in the Big Ten--after three consecutive 0-6 conference campaigns dating back to 2000, the 'Cats went 0-3-3 during the regular season before finally giving him his first win against a Big Ten opponent when they knocked off nationally ranked Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines would go on to make it to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2002, with his first full recruiting class, Lenahan brought in 13 freshmen and a senior transfer. Seven of the first-year players became regular starters immediately, and senior transfer J.D. Martin was a mainstay in goal--the freshman class tallied 37 of NU's 51 total points, while Martin established a single-season school record with seven shutouts en route to garnering second-team All-Big Ten honors. With his philosophy geared toward defense, Lenahan cut the number of goals allowed from 36 to 27 (1.4 per game), another precipitous drop after the Wildcats had allowed 55 goals in the year before his arrival. Lenahan came to Evanston from Lafayette College, where he solidified his reputation as a builder of programs--in just three seasons, his teams won two Patriot League regular season titles and two postseason crowns, and made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. In his first season at Lafayette, Lenahan led the Leopards from the depths of a 4-12 season in 1997--the season before his arrival--to a 16-5 overall mark and both the Patriot League regular-season and postseason tournament titles. The 'Pards capped, at the time, the third-best turnaround in NCAA history with a berth into the NCAA Tournament where they faced No. 1 ranked Clemson. For his team's performance, Lenahan was voted by his peers as the Patriot League Coach of the Year and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year, and was a finalist for NSCAA National Coach of the Year. In 1999, Lafayette was one of three teams in the nation to repeat as conference champions as the fourth-seeded Leopards captured the Patriot League Tournament. That again qualified them for NCAA play, where they fell to No. 17 UMBC. Lenahan still remains the only coach in Patriot League history to win two-straight championships. The 2000 season saw the Leopards--despite the graduation of eight starters--capture yet another Patriot League regular-season championship and come within a whisker of another NCAA bid, as they lost the Patriot League Tournament final on penalty kicks. Prior to his tenure at Lafayette, Lenahan was the head coach from 1990-97 at his alma mater, Richard Stockton College in Pomona, N.J., where he had been an All-NJAC defender. He inherited a team that was 2-15 the season prior to his arrival, but developed the Ospreys into a national power and led them to four appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament in eight years. Lenahan was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference's Coach of the Year in 1990, 1993 and 1996. Lenahan also holds the distinction of coaching the only American college player in history to win a UEFA Champions League title in Europe. Following Lenahan's work with the Saudi Arabia team during the 1994 World Cup in the United States, the Saudi coach sent his son, Argentinian Santiago Solari, to Stockton to play for Lenahan. Lenahan's career coaching record stands at an impressive 180-121-31 (.588), which ranks him among the national leaders in winning percentage among Division I coaches. A Dean's List student in college, Lenahan is a 1983 graduate of Richard Stockton with a bachelor of science degree in computer science. He completed his master's degree in human services with a specialization in sports administration at Rider University in 1992, and also did doctoral work in sports psychology at Temple University. Lenahan holds an A license from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and a Premier license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Lenahan's Record at Northwestern
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