Aug. 23, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 12 Indiana University men's soccer team will open its regular season on Friday, Aug. 25 against No. 8 Creighton in the Notre Dame Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. The Hoosiers continue at the tournament through Sunday, Aug. 27 with a game against UAB.

Hoosier News and Notes
• The Hoosiers are ranked 12th in the NSCAA preseason poll. The team was also chosen to finish first in the Big Ten by the league's coaches.
• Indiana won both of its exhibition games, a 1-0 win over defending NCAA champion Maryland in the IPFW Soccer Showcase, and a 1-0 win over UIC at the Fort Wayne Sports Club.
• Senior midfielder Josh Tudela was named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Freshmen Eric Alexander, Kevin Alston and Ofori Sarkodie were named to the College Soccer News 100 Freshmen To Watch list.

Scouting Creighton
• Creighton, ranked eighth in the NSCAA poll, returns nine starters from last season.
• The Bluejays played two tough exhibition games, topping No. 9 Akron 1-0, while playing to a 2-2 draw with No. 5 Clemson. Creighton won 3-1 in penalty kicks against Clemson.
• Key returning players include Missouri Valley Conference second-team selections senior Michael Krauss (forward, 8 goals, 5 assists) and senior defender Ryan Junge. Sophomore forward Byron Dacy was the MVC Freshman of the Year last season with a team-leading nine goals, with nine assists.
• Junior midfielder Tim Bohnenkamp had a team-high 10 assists last season. Other key returning players include senior midfielder Jarod Tarver (5 goals, 6 assists) and senior defender Andrew Peterson (1 goal, 2 assists).
• In goal, junior Matt Allen had a 0.81 goals allowed average in 2005.
• Indiana is 1-2 all-time against Creighton. The last time the two teams met was in the NCAA Tournament in 2000, with the Bluejays coming out with a 2-1 win.

Scouting UAB
• UAB returns seven starters from its 2005 squad, when it finished 10-7-1.
• The Blazers finished their exhibition season undefeated, beginning with a 3-1 victory over the Mobile Rams, and tying Louisville 0-0.
• Senior midfielder Sandy Gbandi and sophomore defender Dejan Jakovich were selected to the Conference USA second team. Gbandi had five goals and six assists last season, while Jakovich had one goal, and played in 17 games last year.
• Senior forward Jerson Montiero earned third-team all-conference accolades behind five goals and three assists. Sophomore midfielder Two-Boys Gumede had one goal and four assists en route to being named to the all-freshman team.
• UAB coach Mike Getman lettered in soccer at Indiana in 1979 and 1981.
• The Hoosiers and Blazers tied in each of their previous two meetings. The teams last met in 1993, playing to a 0-0 tie.

Indiana Selected To Win Big Ten Title
• Indiana edged out Penn State as the favorite to win the Big Ten men's soccer title as voted on by the conference coaches and announced by the Big Ten office Monday, Aug. 21.
• Penn State, which defeated Indiana both times the two teams met this year, was chosen to finish second. The poll is rounded out by Ohio State at No. 3, followed by Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan and Northwestern.
• The Hoosiers have won nine of the last 10 regular season titles, and 11 Big Ten Tournament titles.

Tudela Named To M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List
• Senior midfielder Josh Tudela has been named to the Missouri Athletic Club's (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy Watch List, which was compiled by a panel of coaches from the NSCAA.
• Tudela, a senior midfielder, was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last year. He is Indiana's leading returning scorer, with six goals and five assists for 17 points last season.
• The winner of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy will be determined in voting by NSCAA Division I member coaches. A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in early November.
• In 2004, Danny O'Rourke became the first Hoosier to win the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. The M.A.C. Award and Hermann Trophy were merged into one award prior to the 2002 season. On five occasions, a Hoosier won the Hermann Trophy and on three occasions, a Hoosier won the M.A.C. Player of the Year Award. Current assistant coach Todd Yeagley won the M.A.C. Trophy in 1994.

Battle In Goal
• One of the toughest battles in the preseason has been at the goalkeeper position. Junior Chris Munroe and sophomore Chay Cain have both seen action in goal, while neither has given up a goal this preseason.
• Munroe, who started last season and had a goals against average of 0.71, started the first half against both Maryland and UIC. He had two saves against UIC and three against Maryland.
• Cain played in three matches last season, and was in net for the second half against Maryland and UIC, as well as the overtime period against UIC. He tallied six saves against UIC and stopped five shots against Maryland.

Coach's Corner
Head coach Mike Freitag shared his thoughts on the team's play in the preseason.

We've had a very good preseason. I love the attitude of the team, the camaraderie, and the unity of the players. All of the players are on the same page, and looking for success. Everybody's worked hard, and I think we're fit and ready to go.

We accomplished the goals as we'd set out to. We had some questions we had answered, like who our starting group is going to be, as well as who is going to contribute off the bench. It's a very difficult decision, because we have a lot of players who can contribute well in both positions. As a team, we have worked on a couple of different formations, and we have an understanding of how to play in them.

The trip to Fort Wayne was a positive one. The two games that we played were against quality opponents. It helped give us an idea of what we need to get better at. The training environment was good for us. It will hopefully prepare us well for our match with Creighton.

All the teams at the Notre Dame Tournament are still finding themselves. It will just be a matter of who finds themselves sooner than the other. Creighton and UAB are both formidable opponents.

Recapping the Maryland Game
• Indiana's 12th-ranked men's soccer squad downed top-ranked defending NCAA champion Maryland on Aug. 18, 1-0, in an exhibition game at IPFW's Soccer Showcase.
• For the second straight exhibition game, sophomore reserve Brian Ackley scored the game-winner in a 1-0 contest. Redshirt freshman Darren Yeagle set up Ackley's decisive strike with a pass from the right side just a few feet from the end line. Ackley corralled the pass just outside the six-yard box and knocked it past Maryland keeper Chris Seitz at the 74:47 mark to put the Hoosiers on the board.
• Indiana keepers Chris Munroe and Chay Cain both played a half in the net for the Hoosiers, combining for eight saves to keep the Terrapins scoreless. Munroe registered three saves in the first half, while Cain stopped five shots in the second stanza.
• The Hoosiers were outshot in the game, 12-10.

Recapping the UIC Game
• Sophomore Brian Ackley scored the only goal of the contest to give Indiana a 1-0 victory over Illinois-Chicago in the Hoosiers' first exhibition game of the season on Aug. 15 at the Fort Wayne Sports Club.
• Ackley scored in the second overtime period, netting a shot into the upper left corner of the net off a feed from freshman Lee Hagedorn.
• While the starting lineup had several familiar faces from last season, including seniors Julian Dieterle, Josh Tudela, John Michael Hayden, and Kevin Robson, as well as sophomores Brad Ring and Kevin Noschang. In addition, freshmen Ofori Sarkodie, Kevin Alston and Darren Yeagle all saw significant minutes for the Hoosiers in starting roles.
• In goal, junior Chris Munroe played the first half, making two saves, while sophomore Chay Cain manned the posts for the remaining periods, making six saves.
• UIC led in shots, 13-7, as well as corner kicks, 11-8.

Hoosiers Ranked in Preseason Poll
• Indiana was ranked 12th in the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Poll, released Tuesday, Aug. 15.
• The Hoosiers play seven of the top 18 teams in the poll. Indiana faced No. 1 Maryland on Friday, Aug. 18, in the IPFW Soccer Showcase, defeating the Terrapins 1-0, while it matches with No. 2 Connecticut on Friday, Sept. 1, at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington.
• Also on the Hoosiers schedule is No. 7 Southern Methodist, No. 8 Creighton, No. 9 Akron, No. 12 Penn State, and No. 15 Notre Dame.

Three Named to College Soccer News Freshmen to Watch List
• Freshmen Eric Alexander, Kevin Alston and Ofori Sarkodie were named to the College Soccer News 100 Freshmen To Watch list.
• Alexander was the Gatorade National Boys Player of the Year, and the NSCAA/adidas Boys High School National Player of the Year.
• Sarkodie was named as the NSCAA/adidas National Youth Player of the year. He is a two-year member of the under-17 National Team, and served as a team captain while playing back.
• Alston has also experience on the international level with the under-17 National Team. He was a PARADE Magazine All-American last year.

Hoosiers Lead Nation in Attendance
• The Hoosiers are one of college soccer's most watched teams year in and year out. Last year, Indiana finished second in the nation in average attendance, pulling in 3,112 fans per game.
• During the 2003 campaign, IU led the nation in total attendance with a total of 28,778 attending Armstrong Stadium for 13 home affairs. Indiana averaged 2,214 for home matches, which ranked third nationally. In 2004, the Hoosiers backed that up by averaging 2,385, leading the nation in that category.
• The Hoosiers have a history of drawing large crowds. Indiana ranked among the top three in average attendance in 2001 and 2002. Also in 2001, the Hoosiers ranked third in total attendance with 25,630 visiting Armstrong Stadium. In 2001, the Hoosiers averaged 2,330 over their 11 games. The following season, the Hoosiers averaged 2,195, which was second nationally.

Summer Wrap Up
• Four Hoosiers won national championships with their respective club teams.
• Redshirt freshman Darren Yeagle scored the game-winning goal to lead Javanon to a victory in the under-19 boys final of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships on July 30. He was awarded the adidas Golden Boot, given to the player in each division who has the greatest competitive impact at the championships.
• Senior forward Kevin Robson and senior back Greg Stevning led the Scott Gallagher Soccer Club to the National Cup title in the under-23 division of the United States Adult Soccer Association on Aug. 6.
• Junior back Charley Traylor led the Michigan Bucks to the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) Championship on Saturday, Aug. 12.
• Senior midfielder Josh Tudela, playing with the Kalamazoo Kingdom, was named to the PDL All-Central Conference team.
• Sophomore midfielder Brad Ring and freshman back Ofori Sarkodie helped lead the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team to second place at the 2006 Milk Cup in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, Aug. 4.