Senior midfielder Blake Wieking (Sioux Falls, S.D.) returns to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention in 2007 and is joined by a trio of other Raiders. Junior midfielder Andy Janssen (Sioux Falls, S.D.), sophomore forward Brad White (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore defender Tyler Sytsma (Littleton, Colo.) also earned NAIA All-American Honorable Mention honors for their efforts this fall. All four players also earned first team All-Region III as well. Head Coach TJ Buchholz was named the Region III Men's Soccer Coach of the Year, as Northwestern won the regional championship, advancing to their first ever NAIA National Championships.
Wieking scored seven goals, including three game winners, and had one assist. Janssen netted ten shots for Northwestern, four of which were game winners, and also had one assists. White led Northwestern in scoring, posting team highs in goals and assists with 12 and seven respectively. Sytsma played in the middle of a Raider defense that allowed 1.33 goals a game and posted seven shut-outs this season.
Northwestern finished the season with a 12-8-1 overall record, a Region III Championship, and a National Tournament birth for the first time in school history. The Raiders defeated Sioux Falls, 3-2, and Hastings, 1-0, in Hastings, Nebr. to claim the Region crown, also for the first time.
The Raiders will graduate two seniors from this year's team, Wieking and defender Brian Springer. In their four year career Wieking and Springer have been conference champions (2004), three time regional tournament qualifiers (2004, 2006, 2007), Region Champions (2007), NAIA National Championships Qualifiers (2007), and have finished with a career record of 44-32-3.
2007 media guide
