Eliason, NU exude confidence

Matt Eliason has a way of finding himself playing for underdogs who do surprisingly well.

At Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Eliason led the Rams to their two best seasons in school history in a difficult soccer conference.

Now the Northwestern sophomore is ready to lead his teammates into today's NCAA Tournament quarterfinal against North Carolina. Not bad for an unseeded team that a few years ago ended a 35-game losing streak.

"I've been fortunate," said Eliason, who earned all-Big Ten honors by scoring 12 goals this season. "I've been surrounded with great guys. We're just trying to get better and maintain this success."

Among the "great guys" surrounding Eliason are a few local athletes - Naperville resident Jack Hillgard, who assisted the game-winning goal in last week's upset of Akron; senior midfielder Tyler Voigt from Wheaton; defender Jason Drew of Downers Grove; and freshman goalkeeper Jonathon Harris from Arlington Heights.

In 13th-seeded North Carolina (13-7-1) the Wildcats face a team looking for a second straight victory over a Chicago-area foe. The Tar Heels, who won the 2001 national title and boast nine alumni in Major League Soccer, beat UIC 3-2 in overtime last week.

"All over the field they have great talent," Eliason said. "Every single one of their players is capable of doing great things."

But the Wildcats are confident. Their defense has been strong, allowing just 1 goal in the tournament.

"We've just been playing good defense, and we've gotten timely scoring," Eliason said. "We've just been spreading the wealth and getting quality play every game.

"We just play our own game and focus on our style of play and try to do the best we can."