The ‘Cats open the new season on Thursday night, hosting Green Bay at 7 p.m. A visit from local rival DePaul closes the week on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Admission to all Northwestern men’s soccer games at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium is free during the regular season.
Managed by the fourth-year head coach Russell PayneNorthwestern returns with an impressive core from last season’s squad, a group that includes returning All-Big Ten Conference selections Collin McCamy, Nigel PrinceAnd Fritz VolmarAll three members of the trio were named to the conference’s Players to Watch List, which was released by the league office on Wednesday.
EXPLORE GREEN BAY
Green Bay is coming off an impressive 2023 season, finishing 10-4-5 overall and 5-2-2 in the Horizon League. The Phoenix defeated top-seeded Oakland 1-0 in the Horizon League Championship finals to secure the team’s third NCAA Tournament appearance.
After spending the last nine years on the Green Bay Packers coaching staff, head coach John O’Reilly will begin his first season as coach of the Phoenix in 2024. O’Reilly returns with Chris Album and Tommy Coughlin, both of whom were named All-Horizon League last season. Album, who was selected to the first team, tied his team’s best in goals (9) and total points (20) and was named to the All-North Region first team by the United Soccer Coaches. Coughlin was selected to the second team after starting 16 of 18 appearances last season, including scoring the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over IUPUI on Oct. 21.
SCOUTING DePAUL
DePaul, which opens the 2024 season Thursday night away at UIC, finished 3-7-5 last season, including a 1-4-3 record in the BIG EAST Conference.
Led by seven-year head coach Mark Plotkin, 19 key players from 2023 return to the Blue Demons, including BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year Noeh Hernandez. Hernandez was the focal point of DePaul’s attack last season, scoring five goals, the most on the team, and dishing out two assists. The midfielder was also the Blue Demons’ top player in shots (29) and shots on goal (14).
SERIES MATERIAL
Northwestern and Green Bay meet for the 19th time in the season opener on Thursday. The Wildcats are 8-6-4 in the series. Northwestern extended its winning streak against Green Bay to seven last season when it fought to a scoreless tie with the Phoenix on Oct. 3.
Sunday weekend’s finale marks the 34th installment of the Northwestern-DePaul men’s soccer rivalry. The ‘Cats lead the all-time series by a margin of 19-10-4 after going undefeated (2-0-2) in their last four meetings against their southern rival. Bryant Mayer secured an away result for Northwestern last year at Wish Field on September 4, putting the ball in the net in the 84th minute to end a 1-1 tie.
Next
Northwestern is back in action on Friday, Aug. 30, when it welcomes Drake to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium at 7 p.m. to complete its three-game home season opener. The ‘Cats will then turn their attention to Chicago’s West Side, traveling to UIC for a Labor Day matchup on Monday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
