Hoosiers defeat No. 8 Creighton on Ackley's header

Heading into the season, sophomore Brian Ackley had never played forward.\nBut it was a good thing for the Hoosiers that IU coach Mike Freitag moved the former midfielder to forward this year.\nAckley scored two goals and tallied one assist as the No. 12 Hoosiers opened the season with two victories at the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. IU defeated No. 8 Creighton University Friday night and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Sunday.\nAckley's performance this weekend comes on the heels of his two goals in the two preseason games for the Hoosiers. With the departure of six players from last year's team, Ackley knew he would have the opportunity for more playing time but never thought he would have this big of an impact so early in the season.\n"No, not really," Ackley said. "I've been in the right place at the right time and have been able to score."\nFreitag said he was pleased with the way Ackley stepped up this weekend.\n"I've always felt highly of Brian as a player," Freitag said. "He has never played forward, but he has been excellent up there for us."\nMinutes before a possible overtime against UAB, senior midfielder John Michael Hayden took the Hoosier's fifth corner kick of the game. Ackley headed the cross to senior defender Julian Dieterle, who sealed the game when he headed the ball past UAB goalkeeper Jeremy Drake.\nThe cream and crimson's first goal came just 26 seconds into the match when Ackley headed in a cross from freshman Darren Yeagle.\nThe strike was the second fastest goal in IU soccer history. The record came in 1982 when Mike Hylla scored in just 16 seconds against St. Louis University.\nUAB tied the contest in the 41st minute when sophomore Logan Alexander redirected a cross past sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain. The Blazers had two viable scoring chances in the second half, but were unable to get past Cain.\nThe Hoosiers dominated offensively, out-shooting UAB 19-5 and holding a 5-1 advantage on corner kicks. For the weekend, IU had a 41-11 advantage on shots and 21-3 advantage on corner kicks.\nFriday night, the Hoosiers and the Bluejays battled through 110 minutes of scoreless play before Ackley headed in a cross from Hayden to give IU the 1-0 lead. Ackley's first career regular season goal was all the Hoosiers needed for the victory.\n"We had a lot of corners, and we knew we would get one of them," Ackley said. "I was able to work my man and get it past the goalie."\nIU used two different goalkeepers this weekend. Last season's starter, junior Chris Munroe played Friday night, while Cain was in between the pipes Sunday. Freitag said he was happy with the play from both keepers and with the defense in the opening games of the season.\n"I'm happy with the way we have defended as a team," Freitag said. "We didn't give up many opportunities, and if our goalies keep playing solid, it will be tough to beat us."\nWith No. 2 University of Connecticut and No. 15 University of Notre Dame next on the schedule in the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic, the Hoosiers are pleased with how they are playing to begin the 2006 season.\n"The makeup of this team lends itself to be successful," Dieterle said. "We always look forward to the classic, and it will be fun to see the eyes of the freshmen when they take the field this weekend"