As the rest of the soccer world occupies itself with the tactics of Garrett Southgate and Gregg Berhalter, I think it’s about time to refocus our attention to a style of the sport that doesn’t make us want to gauge our eyes out.
Northwestern soccer opens its 2024 season in a little less than two months. The cozy Martin Stadium has been transformed into a temporary home for the football team — American football, that is — and with that larger home field comes a litany of large questions.
Let’s get into it.
Where will the goals come from?
The most pressing concern for both the men’s and women’s sides this summer has got to be the offense. Both groups enter the new season having lost a substantial chunk of their offensive production from 2023.
The Northwestern women will have to replace the production of their three most prolific offensive players — Ella Hase (10g, 3a), Josie Aulicino (6g, 7a) and Meg Boade (4g, 14a). Northwestern struggled offensively last season even with that trio. The ‘Cats scored just 12 goals in 10 games of conference play in 2023, capped by a three game stretch without a goal in late September.
The biggest issue last season was probably the finishing. Northwestern was a middle of the pack squad in the Big Ten in terms of shots but often lacked patience inside the box. A main worry is that this issue will only be exacerbated in 2024 with a more inexperienced group.
A lot of the pressure will fall on sophom*ore forward Megan Norkett, who boasts the most goals of a returning forward with four (defender Emma Phillips leads all returning Wildcats with seven). Norkett was Northwestern’s best player in its signature non-conference victory on the road against a competitive Virginia Tech side, tallying a goal and an assist in the 3-2 victory. There is absolutely a window for the sophom*ore to take the reins of this team. Norkett is an elite decision maker who is quick with the ball at her feet, and I don’t see her having any trouble dealing with the added attention she is sure to receive from opposing defenses as Northwestern’s highest profile returning attacking player.
For the men, it’s all about replacing Justin Weiss. The Northwestern offense ran through the prolific senior in 2023. Weiss led the ‘Cats in both goals and assists (7g, 7a), and Northwestern won just two games where their leading man did not have a goal contribution.
Northwestern will also have to replace forwards Ugo Achara and Rom Brown, who each netted four goals in their last season in purple and white. That trio scored 15 of Northwestern’s 27 goals in 2023, and it will be up to the younger guys to replace their production.
Northwestern does boast a talented, if inexperienced, set of attackers. I’m looking for the highly touted 2022 recruiting class — that’s Christopher Thaggard, Jason Gajadhar and Jayvin Vandeventer — to step up in a big way in their third year with the program. Top Drawer Soccer ranked that 2022 class as the fifth best in the country, good for the best class in Northwestern history, and that group is more than primed to rise to those lofty expectations.
Gajadhar was a regular starter in the midfield as a sophom*ore for the 2023 ‘Cats, and he earned both Big Ten All-Freshman and All-Tournament honors in his freshman year. Thaggard and Van Deventer played in all 17 games for Northwestern last season, starting in six apiece. Van Deventer especially showed an ability to create offensive out of thin air in his ridiculous solo goal against Rutgers last season, and I expect the junior to excel in a starting role in 2024.
What will be the impact of Big Ten expansion? (Hint: UCLA is really really good)
The addition of UCLA, Oregon, Washington and USC to the Big Ten matters a lot more for the women than the men as only UCLA and Washington have men’s teams. For the women, these former Pac 12 sides will matter a whole lot as they try to make their way back to the Big Ten tournament after a disappointing 2023 campaign.
The California schools are juggernauts in the women’s soccer world. UCLA were national champions two years ago, and last year entered the tournament ranked as the second best team in the country before a shocking first round loss to UC Irvine sent the Bruins home early. USC finished third in a crowded Pac-12 last year and earned an at-large tournament bid before also falling in the first round.
Both schools should be good enough in 2024 to finish in the top eight of the Big Ten and earn conference tournament bids. Northwestern is slated to play UCLA at home in early September according to the UCLA website (Northwestern hasn’t officially released its 2024 schedule yet), and that contest should be a solid barometer for how this season will go for the ‘Cats.
Washington is a solid program — it struggled late last season and never really threatened to make the NCAA tournament, but the Huskies return a bunch of key pieces from last year and should be competitive in the Big Ten. Oregon, however, is downright terrible. The Ducks limped to a winless season in 2023 and will likely continue to struggle in a crowded Big Ten.
For the men, UCLA is the main threat as well. The Bruins were the No. 13 program in the country coming into the NCAA tournament and will immediately compete for a Big Ten title with a high-octane offense (34 goals in 19 games last season). Washington (a projected middle of the pack squad) would be less worrying if Northwestern didn’t have to play them on the road in the middle of Big Ten play. The ‘Cats will travel to Seattle for a Sept. 20 matchup with the Huskies, and it remains to be seen how such a long trip will affect this young team.
What is success?
For the women, success is simple: The ‘Cats MUST at least get back to the Big Ten Tournament in 2024. This is a team that fought its way into the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, and last year’s failure to sniff postseason soccer was a shocking step backwards. Northwestern is young, but the talent is there to win games in the Big Ten this season, and ‘Cats fans should not settle for another season of mediocrity after the promise this group showed in 2022.
Success is a little more ephemeral for the men’s side. In the first year of head coach Russell Payne’s contract extension, I’m going to say that a solid season for the Northwestern men would mean continuing the program’s upward trajectory. I’m not sure if this group is ready to put together a tournament run without Weiss or Achara. A successful 2024 would see the younger guys on this roster take a leap; I’m looking for Big Ten All-Freshman defender Fritz Volmar to compete for Big Ten First Team honors in his second season in Evanston, as well as significant improvement from Thaggard, Gajadhar and Van Deventer. I’d call this season a success if the ‘Cats can play .500 or better soccer in the Big Ten, and we see continued development of the talented young guys that Payne continues to bring in.
