Cal, UCLA 1st opponents on IU men's soccer schedule

In 2009, former IU coach Mike Freitag tried to get his players to understand that they had to play the full 90 minutes.

This season, IU coach Todd Yeagley has his team focused on the fact that the game is only 90 minutes.

“It’s only an hour and a half of playing,” junior forward Will Bruin said. “So, it’s hard work while you’re out there so the feeling afterwards will definitely be worth the work you put in.”

Just 90 minutes. It’s just a little bit longer than sitting through a lecture, except there’s running involved.

The men’s soccer team will devote 90 minutes at 7:30 p.m. Friday against California and another 90 minutes at 2 p.m. Sunday against UCLA  at Bill Armstrong Stadium in the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.

The game will mark freshman Nikita’s Kotlov’s first 90 minutes in a real college soccer game — a game that actually matters in the record books, that is.

“I’m excited to have my first game at IU that’s not preseason,” Kotlov said. “Hopefully I’m not too nervous.”

The 5-foot-9 midfielder from Indianapolis knows the time on the field this weekend is important to a fresh start for IU soccer.

“Indiana has probably the best soccer reputation,” Kotlov said. “I just want to keep that going throughout the years.”

Yeagley’s first focus is the game against California. He said he is more excited than nervous for his first regular season game as head coach in Bloomington.

“We want to allow a fire but be calm at the same time, and that needs to come from our staff, too,” Yeagley said. “It’s going to be a fire but one that plays under control and knows that every moment is important out there. Truly with this weekend, there is a special feeling.”

The Hoosiers have limited scouting information on California because the season has just begun.

“Every team you play your first game against you typically don’t know much about,” Yeagley said. “Cal’s a team that’s been a tournament team regularly. We don’t know much about Cal this early, but we do know they’re going to be very well organized.”

Yeagley said UCLA, the No. 5-ranked team on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, might have the most talent going forward of any team in the country.

“They are a perennial power year in year out,” he said. “When you talk about soccer and you mention powerhouses, UCLA is in everyone’s first conversation.”

The seven stars that curve around the IU soccer logo show that the Hoosiers were once also mentioned in the powerhouse conversation. For now, they’ll take each game as it comes — 90 minutes at a time.

“Instead of putting together bits and pieces for the 90 minutes, we have to put together the full 90 on the field,” Bruin said.