When Matt Eliason ’11, the all-time leading scorer for Northwestern men’s soccer, buried a bicycle kick during a July 2013 charity match with soccer star Lionel Messi, the highlight earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter’s “Top 10 Plays” and changed the trajectory of his life. Inspired by the goal, Eliason, who had been working as an analyst for GE Capital, rekindled his professional soccer career, earning a spot on Thróttur Reykjavík FC, a club in Iceland. His stint with the team was short-lived due to injury, and Eliason now lives in Chicago, working as a senior associate at TRC Advisory. His journey was chronicled in the documentary Messi & Me. Northwestern men’s soccer coach Tim Lenahan executive produced the film, and the crew included executive producer Gregg Latterman ’96 MBA, director Renny Maslow ’96 and producer Jake Abraham ’96. Messi & Me has screened at film festivals in New York, Los Angeles and Napa Valley, as well as Barcelona, Spain, and will be available through streaming outlets this spring.
Trienens Performance Center Transforms Team Practices
In 2017 Howard Trienens gave $20 million to transform Trienens Hall, the indoor turf field he helped fund with a leadership gift in 1996, into a world-class developmental facility for Wildcats volleyball, baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s basketball teams. Northwestern Athletics and Recreation celebrated Trienens’ decades of service to and support for Northwestern at the November 2019 dedication.
Reader Responses
This is so awesome. Can't wait to watch. Congrats, Matt!
—Arturo Menchaca '06, Chicago, via Northwestern Magazine
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