Offense excels in preseason

Fresh off its two exhibition game wins, the IU men’s soccer team is anxious to begin the regular season.

With a 3-1 victory against Tulsa and a 3-0 shutout of No. 24 UNC, the Hoosiers are primed for Friday’s season opener against Duke.

The high-scoring games are a departure from last season, when the team struggled to find its rhythm offensively. Having scored three goals only four times in 2007, the output generated against the Golden Hurricane and the Tar Heels gives a boost of confidence to both players and coaches.

“In some ways, the last couple years we’ve created good chances – we just haven’t finished them,” said IU coach Mike Freitag. “I think some guys come in – they have the knack of scoring. I think it’s rubbed off on some other people.”

With only 14 juniors and seniors on the team, the pressure to deliver a national championship is greater. But senior midfielder Brad Ring said he’s not worried.

“I think the chemistry got a lot better,” Ring said. “With the addition of some freshmen and transfers, we’re going to be much better than last year. Last year we were struggling to score two goals a game. This year I think we can score four or five goals a game.”

Despite losing seniors Greg Stevning and Charley Traylor, the recruiting efforts of the staff have paid off. With a No. 3-ranked freshman class, Freitag has a plethora of young stars from which to choose. Currently, he plans to start freshman forward Will Bruin and defender Tommy Meyer, both from St. Louis. Meyer’s father, Keith, played for IU when the Hoosiers won championships in 1982 and 1983.

Regardless of their inexperience, Ring said Bruin’s and Meyer’s high school careers have prepared them for the collegiate level.

“They’ve been in rowdy atmospheres,” Ring said. “They may be a little shell-shocked for a little bit, but after the first 10 to 15 minutes they’ll settle down, and they’ll be fine.”
With transfers Cameron Jordan and Nate Mitchell, the depth of the squad provides a healthy competition for those fighting for a spot.

“That’s a good thing in the sense that everybody has to fight for a job,” Freitag said. “You’re never secure in your position. It keeps you on your toes.”
After weeks of practice, senior goalkeeper Chay Cain said a familiarity is in place between the veterans and rookies.

“The first couple weeks of preseason, it gets all the kinks worked out,” Cain said. “The first couple days it’s kind of hard because you don’t know people’s names and you’re trying to figure out people’s habits and tendencies. At this point ... everybody is kind of on the same page as far as what we want, where we want to go, the habits of each individual that by the time we open up on Friday we should be good to go.”

The Hoosiers, ranked No. 7 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, are entering the season as one of the top teams in the country. Ring was announced to the first team Pre-Season 2008 All-America team, while junior defender Ofori Sarkodie made the second team.

“Sometimes you just get a feel of how the season’s going to go, and I feel very good, very confident about this season and about this team,” Freitag said.