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(03/26/07 4:00am)
After the 2006 Little 500, the IU Student Foundation created a new rule that would bar nonstudents from coaching in the pits on race day.\nBut on Friday, the organization announced it had changed its mind. \nIUSF Director Jenny Bruffey and IU Foundation CEO Curt Simic sent an e-mail to Little 500 coaches and riders Friday afternoon announcing they would allow alumni coaches in the pits on race day.\n“Alumni have always been an integral part of our event,” Bruffey said Sunday at qualifications. “It just kind of came down to, three weeks before the race, we were like, well, maybe it is something the race needs and maybe we made the decision a little fast.”\nIn May 2006, Simic detailed IUSF’s “student coaching initiative,” which required all participating Little 500 teams to have a student who would coach them on race day. Simic told the Indiana Daily Student in May he was concerned with nonstudent coaches who were “taking full control” of their respective teams.\nLittle 500 riders and coaches rallied against the initiative, and many submitted a petition to IUSF in September. At that time, Bruffey told the IDS, “We’re not going to not implement this initiative this year.”\nThe policy reversal allows teams to choose either their student or alumni coach in the pit during the race, or both, if a team so chooses.\nLittle 500 race coordinator Matthew Ewing said that since its implementation, IUSF has reviewed the student-coaching initiative.\n“We just came to the conclusion that we think our alumni can have a positive impact and riders should have a choice who they should have in the pit,” Ewing said.\nThe lead critic of the initiative, former coach Tom Schwoegler, said he was happy with IUSF’s decision. \n“When the student foundation does something stupid, I’ll stand up,” Schwoegler said. “But when they do something great, I’ll stand up and say it’s a great thing. To me, this is very late but necessary.”\nErik Styacich, Phi Kappa Psi senior rider and president of Riders Council, said, “I think it’s good that alumni coaches are allowed back in the pits. I think that’s a really important part of Little 5.”\nBut not all Little 500 participants were glad to see Bruffey’s and Simic’s e-mail.\nJim Kirkham, former Cutters coach and current adviser to the team, was one of two coaches who last year proposed the race-day ban to IUSF. \n“I was disappointed that they reversed it,” he said. “I don’t think any coach should be allowed on the track. Only the riders should be. I think the coach has no affect on it at all. It sort of comes of ego if you think it does.\n“It’s a rider’s race,” he said. “They are the ones who have to pedal the bike.”\nBy allowing alumni coaches back in the pits, Bruffey said IUSF is not abandoning the student-coaching initiative. Regardless of whether they will be in the pit on race day, all teams will be required to have a student coach for the next several years.\nThe recent change does not mean alumni coaches will never be banned from the pits.\n“We never say ‘never,’” Bruffey said. “But at this point, for the race and for the betterment of the race, we’re going to allow them to maintain the role that they’ve always had.\n“Maybe in the future, as the student-coaching initiative develops and becomes more grounded, it might be something we look at, but not anytime in the next couple of years.”\n–Staff writer Chris Engel contributed to this report.
(03/24/07 12:25am)
Just got an e-mail from IUSF Director Jenny Bruffey. Alumni coaches will be allowed in the pits on race day. Here's the story:
(03/23/07 9:27pm)
Tomorrow's weather forecast is looking kind of grim.
(03/23/07 4:00am)
Last year’s women’s Little 500 race was decided by mere inches. But if you ask any of the women preparing for Saturday’s qualifications, this year’s race could be more of a tossup.\n“A lot of the girls are very evenly matched,” said senior Trevy Ramos, a rider for Alpha Phi. “In years past I think it was more obvious. There were one or two or three strong teams out there.”\nThis year, though, it could be one of several teams. \n“It’s a little more up in the air this year than it has been in the past,” said senior Megan Mueller, a rider for Phi Mu. “We’ll probably be surprised by a few people. It’s a pretty open field.”\n When the 32 women’s teams take the track Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, they will be fighting for the green jersey, which signifies the pole position for the April 20 race.\nSome of the teams favored to make noise this year include defending champion Kappa Kappa Gamma, last year’s runner-up Kappa Delta, four-time winners Kappa Alpha Theta, last year’s third-place finisher Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Phi and Wright Cycledelics. \nRamos said her primary concern is the safety of her team, and she has not set a specific goal for Alpha Phi. \n“Of course we want to qual well, but if we don’t get pole I’m not going to be like, ‘bad team,’” Ramos said. “You kind of hope for the best. You never want to set something like, ‘We want to get third,’ and then you don’t make it and then you’re discouraged. That’s stupid. You should just want to do your best, not set a goal that might not be attainable.”\nThis year’s qualifications might be more dangerous than others. Since a slew of seniors graduated last year, rookie riders comprise a large portion of the field. \nOne rookie, Alpha Omicron Pi junior Brittani Hensel, said she is nervous about falling during the exchange. \n“Everyone’s been telling me, ‘Don’t be afraid of the bike,’” Hensel said. “That’s the biggest thing I’ve heard from everyone. If you’re afraid of it, if you’re timid, that’s when you’re going to have the most problems. If you just go out and do it, you’re going to do a lot better.”\nVeteran riders have been doing their best to calm the nerves of the rookies, Ramos said. But she said veterans can’t do much to influence the emotions that come on the track.\n“I always assumed Little 500 was this huge thing,” she said, “and then when (the rookies) go to the first meetings, (IUSF officials) say, ‘Oh it’s just an intramural race. This is supposed to be for amateurs.’ Even if they don’t think it’s serious, the riders take it very seriously.”
(03/21/07 11:57pm)
It was so nice outside today (upper 70s, sunny, just beautiful). I guess you can't ask for much more on the first full day of spring.
(03/19/07 12:45am)
Greetings and thanks for checking out the inagural post of the Little 500 blog which we have titled "Blogging Away." (A little cheesy, I know, but it gets the job done.) For those of you new to Little 5, the title is in reference to the 1979 Oscar-winning movie "Breaking Away."
(02/06/07 4:31am)
Ryan Nietert knows better. You don't wear white after Labor Day.\nSo when the Student Athletic Board president wanted to rally IU's student fans for the men's basketball team's game against Illinois on Saturday, Nietert didn't suggest a white out. Instead the senior wanted all students to wear a blue shirt and red tie as a tribute to IU coach Kelvin Sampson.\n"The Illinois game's a nationally televised game and I thought it would be a great thing for us to do to support him," Nietert said. "We were thinking about doing a red out, but the press would pick up more on this than a red out. They would see that we really support coach Sampson."\nCertainly the game's atmosphere will be much different than it was the last time these two teams met. Sampson was the subject of numerous student chants when the Hoosiers and Illini met in Champaign, Ill., last month. Sampson's relationship with Illinois coach Bruce Weber has been rocky at best since Sampson swooned North Central guard Eric Gordon away from an Illinois commitment to IU. One Facebook group is asking students to bring baby rattles to the game -- insinuating that Weber has whined too much about the Gordon saga.\nNietert said the SAB didn't intentionally plan the "Sampson out" this weekend to spite Weber and the Illini.\nIn fact, it was an idea Nietert said the Student Athletic Board wanted to implement at the Wisconsin game for the few SAB directors who sit near the court at Assembly Hall. They nixed that idea when other students organized their own impromptu white out. \nOne concern Nietert has with the "Sampson out" is the cost students might incur to buy a blue collared shirt and red tie, which typically costs more than the plain white T-shirt worn during white outs. This is a concern marketing staffers in the athletics department shared with him, Nietert said. \n"A lot of girls don't have blue shirts and red ties," he said. "If girls really want to do this, they'll find one of their guy friends and borrow a red tie from them. I understand there are cost implications, but at the same time you can do a blue T-shirt with just a painted red tie on it."\nOther students are pushing for a red out, a Facebook event that had drawn more than 100 guests as of Monday night.
(11/20/06 5:44am)
It didn't rain Saturday night when Santa Clara University eliminated IU from the NCAA Tournament, but the sod on Jerry Yeagley Field was soggy nonetheless. After Bronco forward Jeff Cosgriff sent his game-winning penalty kick into the net, tears streamed down the faces of several Hoosiers and hit the yellow-tinged grass. \nThere will be no quarterfinals for the IU men's soccer team this year. No trip to St. Louis for the College Cup. No eighth national championship. \nInstead, for the second straight year, the Hoosiers ended their season with a home loss early in the NCAA Tournament. "It's tough, especially after two years having success," said senior defender Julian Dieterle, who played on IU's 2003 and 2004 national championship teams. "(I was) a little spoiled." \nThe team had hoped to sweep the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships and hang another national championship banner on the east end of Bill Armstrong Stadium. \n"It's a disappointment," Dieterle said of the loss in a 5-4 shootout. "We worked very hard all year. I think this team has been one of the tightest-knit groups I've been around. I think the finality of it all hasn't really set in yet.\n"We never expect to lose a game. That's the difference here. We always expect to go on and play next weekend."\nThe Hoosiers started the year with a 3-3-1 start. After those first seven games, the Hoosiers went 12-1-2 to finish the season.\n"(It was a team) that I enjoyed working with -- a team I think came a long way," coach Mike Freitag said. "I just commend my players for the class they play with, the heart they play with and the skill they play with."\nThe Broncos advancement in the NCAA Tournament helped vindicate a 2003 loss to the Hoosiers in the College Cup, Bronco coach Cameron Rast said. \n"Especially when you come to Indiana and play such a storied program, we're obviously very pleased to advance in the NCAA (Tournament)," Rast said. "I think you know what you're going to get when you play IU. You're going to get a great soccer match. You're going to get some quality play. And the team that can execute on their opportunities is the one that's going to walk out as the winner on the day."\nAs Santa Clara players and fans cheered after the game, many Hoosiers wondered what life would be like without soccer practice and games. \n"I don't know what to do tomorrow," Freitag said. \nFor Dieterle, it will be only the second time since he left for college that he can return home for Thanksgiving.\n"Home is not a bad place, right?" he said.
(11/17/06 4:54am)
Whenever the IU men's soccer team challenges the Santa Clara University Broncos, someone's season is likely to end.\nThough the two programs have met only six times, the five most recent meetings were during the College Cup -- the Final Four of college soccer. The last time the two faced IU beat the Broncos 1-0 in the national semifinal game en route to its sixth NCAA Championship.\nThat's why IU coach Mike Freitag knows that when the No. 7-seed Hoosiers meet that "damn good team" at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, his players will have to be at their best. \nSure, IU might hold a three-game winning streak against the team from out west, but the Broncos won the three games prior. And just like the five most recent meetings, the winner will advance in the NCAA Tournament.\n"They really get after it defensively," Freitag said of the Broncos, a team the Hoosiers defeated en route to three of its four most recent championships. "They have a high-pressure defense with talented players at every position. They like to force you in to mistakes."\nFreitag's been scrambling to do his homework on the Broncos since learning that's who the Hoosiers would face. The No. 10 seed Broncos beat the Washington Huskies 3-2 in overtime to advance to the third round of the tournament. \nWhen the Broncos arrive in Bloomington, Freitag and Santa Clara coach Cameron Rast will exchange the team's most recent game tapes, per NCAA rules, to help the coaches scout each other.\n"At this stage, everybody's a good team," Freitag said. "Everybody knows how to win."\nFour Broncos have scored five or more goals on the year, and Freitag said the team's offensive attack is similar to a hockey team's which it dumps the ball toward the goal and attacks from all angles.\nLike its two most recent opponents, the Broncos will stand a bit taller than the Hoosiers. To make up for the height disadvantage, junior defender Charley Traylor said the Hoosier defense must stay vigilant.\n"They attack with three forwards, and they're all a bit bigger than we are," Traylor said. "We're going to have to be really good in the air and be smart about how our smaller backs handle these big forwards."\nThe strategy to defend against taller teams is simple, sophomore forward Brian Ackley said.\n"We just jump higher," he said. "We want it more."\nTraylor said while the Broncos have a height advantage, it is not as beneficial as playing on home turf.\n"I think they have a lot more adversity traveling from the west coast here and playing in the cold weather," Traylor said. \nFreitag agreed the home-field advantage is important.\n"It's always nice to be at home, sleep in your own bed," he said. "You have your fans there. You don't have to worry about jet lag and all that stuff. It's nice -- that's why we work so hard in the season"
(11/16/06 5:03am)
On a rain-soaked, mud-covered playing field, the IU men's soccer team slugged its way to a fourth-consecutive shutout Wednesday night and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. \nSophomore forward Brian Ackley scored the lone goal of the night as the Hoosiers topped the Northern Illinois University Huskies 1-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium. \nIn the 20th minute, after senior midfielder Kevin Robson weaved his way through a compact Huskies defense, sophomore midfielder John Mellencamp played the ball through to Ackley, who chipped it over the head of Huskies goalkeeper Joe Zimka.\n"He didn't hit it very well, but it was just enough," Zimka said. \nFewer than five minutes after Ackley's goal, the Hoosiers almost gave it right back.\nDuring a Huskies offensive attack, Ackley fouled a Northern Illinois attacker in IU's penalty box, setting up a penalty kick between Northern Illinois forward Marcus McCarty and IU goalkeeper sophomore Chay Cain.\nBefore the game, Cain received a scouting report on McCarty's penalty kicks.\n"I kind of had an idea he was going to keep it central somewhat," Cain said. "I went to the left, tried to drag my foot a bit just to cover as much of the middle as I could." \nMcCarty's shot was low and toward the center of the goal, and diving to his left Cain made the save.\n"Luckily I was able to get my foot on it, and my defense was able to knock it out," Cain said.\nMcCarty maintains Cain made the save with his toe.\n"I had him beat, I had him leading the wrong way," McCarty said. "I just miss-hit it. I thought I had it."\nBoth the Hoosiers and Huskies missed scoring opportunities by clanking the ball off the goalposts.\n"At the end of the day we were a bit unlucky on a number of occasions," Huskies coach Steve Simmons said.\nIn the sludgy conditions, the Hoosiers and Huskies slid their way across Jerry Yeagley Field, and IU had to alter its attack. \n"We like to play the ball on the ground, and under these conditions it's hard to do that," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "The ball -- sometimes it rolls, sometimes it stops. It's not conducive to the way we like to play. We like a fast surface where you can knock and move the ball."\nTo get and keep the go-ahead goal, the cream and crimson needed a little assistance from a familiar friend.\n"At this time in the tournament, you've got to have a little luck, but you've got to make a little luck," Freitag said.\nBy advancing to the third round, the Hoosiers already moved farther in the tournament than they did last year. In 2005, IU fell to Notre Dame 2-0 in the second round, which because of a bye-round was also the first game of the Tournament for IU.\n"We've found over the years that this first game always seems to be the toughest game," Freitag said.\nThe No. 7-seed Hoosiers play again Saturday night against the winner of the Santa Clara University Broncos and the University of Washington Huskies matchup.
(11/06/06 5:06am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Before the season started, IU men's soccer coach Mike Freitag challenged his team to accomplish four things. \nHe wanted the Hoosiers to win the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament championship. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, he wanted the cream and crimson to be the best team in the Great Lakes region and eventually be crowned NCAA champions in the shadows of St. Louis' Gateway Arch at the end of the College Cup.\nThree down, one to go.\n"There is one more we want to achieve and that will be a difficult one, but we are up to the task," Freitag said about the NCAA Championship. \nThe Hoosiers entered the Big Ten Tournament ranked the No. 1 team in the Great Lakes region, and Sunday's 1-0 victory against Ohio State clinched the third of the team's four preseason goals.\nIU learns its postseason fate when the NCAA releases its tournament bracket today, and sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley said the team is excited to fight for the fourth prescribed objective.\n"There is one goal that every team in the nation wants," said Ackley, who scored the game-winning goal against the Buckeyes. "I've not been a part of winning a national championship, but the older boys have. Just hearing them talking about it is really exciting."\nBut a season without a national championship is not a total disappointment, Ackley said. \n"We had four goals this year and we've accomplished three, so take nothing away from us," he said.\nAckley joined the team last season -- the year after IU claimed back-to-back national titles in 2003 and 2004. Last year's team received a lot of praise for talent and started the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, but the Hoosiers fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to in-state rival Notre Dame.\nThe team that lost the Big Ten Championship last year and the one that clinched the title Sunday are not the same, sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain said.\n"This year the big difference is that we truly are a team," he said. "We love each other, and we go out and play for each other."\nFreitag said he sees a clear difference between this year's team and last year's, too.\n"Last year we had a talented team, but we didn't have the heart necessary to win championships," Freitag said. "This team has the heart, and they find ways to win"
(11/01/06 5:22am)
As far as IU men's soccer coach Mike Freitag is concerned, scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in soccer. Apparently, this year it's a little tougher than others.\nThe 2006 IU men's soccer team is the lowest scoring team in the 34 years of the Hoosier program. In the 18 games played thus far, IU has averaged 1.61 goals per game. At the same point last season, the team averaged 2.72 goals per game.\nBut the Hoosiers lost six of the 11 starters from last season, including top goal-scorer Jacob Peterson and Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year Lee Nguyen. Both left IU early to pursue pro careers, and Freitag said the Hoosiers miss their offensive production. \nThe cream and crimson are also combatting better competition than other IU teams, and Freitag said his current team doesn't create enough offensive chances when it controls the ball.\n"Sometimes people get confused what the game is about," Freitag said. "The game's about scoring goals. It's nice to possess and play attractive soccer, but there's nothing wrong with an ugly goal. That's attractive, too."\nEven with the scarcity of goals, the squad has a better winning percentage than last year, and it scores more goals per game than any other team in the Big Ten. And with that fewest-ever-goal mark, it won the Big Ten regular season championship for the 10th time in 11 years.\n"We're just going to keep looking at wins, not how badly we beat a team," \nsenior forward Kevin Robson said. "I think at times this season, we've looked really great on offense. And then other games it seems like we'll play down to our competition and do what we need to get done. It's not a good way to play, but it's been working for us."\nOf the team's 12 wins, nine were won with a one-goal margin, including all four Big Ten victories. The Hoosiers never beat a team by more than two goals.\n"It is slightly troubling because it makes it a lot harder on me and the defense," sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain said. "We have a lot more pressure to keep the shutout in the bag because we know we're not going to get the five-, six-goal games like last year. At the same time, it is a credit to us because we've been able to (hold the other team to) zero or one goal."\nCain recorded six shutouts and six one-goal games in 15 starts this season. The Hoosier defense allowed 69 shots-on-goal all season, the lowest mark in the Big Ten.\n"Our defense has been solid," senior midfielder John Michael Hayden said. "If we score a lot of goals, that's good, but if not and we win the game, then that's fine."\nScoring goals came a lot easier for the Hoosiers 30 years ago. With 19-0 and 13-0 victories, the 1976 Hoosiers outscored the current IU team in just two games. Freitag played on that team -- the highest scoring in IU history -- which averaged 6 goals per game.\n"The game from those days to now, you can't even compare," Freitag said. "There were only a couple good teams in the country. Now every team is good. Every team is better coached, has better players."\nFreitag always preaches there is a lot of parity in college soccer, and he consistently composes one of the most difficult schedules in the NCAA. Including exhibition, the Hoosiers this season have played teams ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the nation. Each of those games was decided by one goal or less.\nClose-scoring games could be beneficial for a NCAA Tournament-bound team like the Hoosiers, Cain said.\n"In the tournament, all the games are going to be really close," he said. "The 0-0 games, you've got to grind out that goal in overtime to get through and advance. From that aspect, I think (low-scoring games) help us out.\n"That said, in the long run, I'd still like the 3- or 4-0 victories"
(10/30/06 4:26am)
The IU men's soccer team clinched the Big Ten regular season championship with a 1-0 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night.\nAnd on the team's senior night, it was a freshman who was the hero. \nFreshman midfielder Lee Hagedorn's goal late in the second half clinched the Hoosiers' 12th Big Ten regular season championship. Last year was the first time in 10 years the Hoosiers did not win at least a share of the regular season crown.\n"We got the championship back in Indiana," sophomore midfielder Brad Ring said. "We got it back where it belongs."\nBut doing so didn't come easily, especially on a night that was so rainy officials almost postponed the game. \nIU started the game with a crisp attack at the Badger defense. With sharp passes on a sloppy field, the cream and crimson booted six first-half shots at Wisconsin goalkeeper Jake Settle, who entered the match leading the Big Ten in fewest goals allowed. \nIn the sixth minute, senior midfielder John Michael Hayden fielded a pass five yards in front of the Badger goal and turned around, ready to shoot. But Wisconsin defender Jack Lambo slid in front of Hayden to knock the ball away. \nIU coach Mike Freitag said his team did not do a good enough job sneaking behind the Wisconsin defense. \n"Just playing in front, knocking around in front, is easy to defend," Freitag said. "Getting behind them ... creates chances for us."\nThe rain picked up in the second half, and so did the IU offense.\nIn the 78th minute, after a Badger defender knocked the ball out of bounds deep in his own territory, Ring launched the ball deep into the Badger penalty box. \nSenior midfielder Josh Tudela and sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley got their feet on the ball. Ackley moved the ball to Hagedorn, who, while slipping, knocked the ball into the Badger goal.\n"We were all just running there, crashing in. (The ball was) just bobbling around," Hagedorn said. "I was able to get to it first and luckily put it in the side of the net."\nRing said it's a play the Hoosiers practice, but to actually score with it takes some luck.\nIt was Hagedorn's first career collegiate goal.\n"Lee's one of those kids that has good timing to get behind defenses," Freitag said. "He makes good decisions on the ball, and he's a good soccer player."\nStill, Hagedorn's role on the team is limited, as he doesn't see playing time every game. But before the battle with the Badgers, Hagedorn said he believed he could exploit some of Wisconsin's defensive weaknesses and hoped he would get an opportunity to show his coaches.
(10/28/06 3:23am)
The IU men's soccer team clinched the Big Ten regular season championship with a 1-0 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers Friday night. \nFreshman midfielder Lee Hagedorn scored his first collegiate career goal late in the second half to give the No. 20 Hoosiers the win. With Friday's victory, the Cream and Crimson finished the Big Ten season undefeated at home. \nThe 2006 Big Ten title is the Hoosiers' 12th. \nThe team took the field to wet, sloppy conditions, but their play was crisp. IU generated several quality attacks on the Badger goal, including John Michael Hayden's point-blank shot that was deflected by sliding Wisconsin defender Jack Lambo. \nThe Hoosiers out-shot the Badgers 6-3 in the first half, but neither team managed a goal.\nThe rain picked up in the second half, but so did IU's offensive attack.\nAfter a Badger defender knocked the ball out of bounds deep in his own territory, IU sophomore midfielder Brad Ring launched the ball into the Wisconsin penalty box. Senior midfielder Josh Tudela and sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley got their feet on the ball. Ackley moved the ball to Hagedorn, who, while slipping, knocked the ball into the Badger goal. \nThe Hoosier defense stymied the Badger offensive attack. Wisconsin managed six shots during the game, but Hoosier sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain had to make only one save. \nTheir championship win guarantees the Hoosiers a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Thursday at Ohio State.
(10/27/06 4:42am)
Forget about coach Hep wanting 50,000 fans at "the Rock." There's another "Hoosier Nation Challenge" this weekend.\nThe No. 20 IU men's soccer team battles Wisconsin at 8 p.m. Friday at Bill Armstrong Stadium, and senior midfielder John Michael Hayden wants 7,000 fans at the game. \n"That'd be nice," he said.\nIf the Hoosiers win, they clinch the Big Ten regular season championship -- something they failed to do last year for the first time in nine years.\n"I'm putting out a request for fans to come out and support, wet or dry," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "Our guys like to come out to great crowds that we've had. It's important for us to get a Big Ten championship."\nJohn Mellencamp will also perform at the soccer game, but not the 50-something rocker. Instead, his 21-year-old nephew, IU's sophomore midfielder bearing the same name, will take the pitch for the Hoosiers.\n"Hopefully he'll produce some pretty music on the field," Freitag said. \nThe Hoosiers and the Badgers enter Friday's game with identical 3-1-1 Big Ten records. Freitag said it's important that IU controls its own destiny. \nThe Big Ten regular season champ also earns a No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament beginning next week. With seven soccer teams in the Big Ten, the No. 1 seed is the only team with a first-round bye. \n"That's one of the biggest things for us because that first-round bye is about as important as it gets for our season," senior midfielder Josh Tudela said. "Playing two games in two days just kills your body. Going out fresh the second game just helps out tremendously."\nFor the Hoosiers to win, they have to find a way to get the ball past Wisconsin goalkeeper Jake Settle, who leads the Big Ten with the fewest goals allowed per game with a 0.74 goals per game average. \nHayden said the Hoosiers need a better offensive attack, and he even shaved his head to try and change his own luck.\nHayden and Tudela will celebrate senior night before the game along with midfielder Kevin Robson and defender Julian Dieterle. Those four players will likely start Friday. Dieterle will probably fill in for junior defender Greg Stevning, who left IU's 4-2 win against Butler Tuesday with a concussion.\nThe four seniors are the last remaining Hoosiers who played on the 2003 national championship team.\n"Coming in we expected regular season Big Ten, Big Ten Championship and then NCAA Championship," Tudela said of this season. "Right now we're definitely heading in the right direction. Every day coming out we're getting better and better, and hopefully we're getting closer to our goals."\nLooking back, Hayden's a little envious of the Hoosier freshmen.\n"I look at those guys, and I wish I was in their position," he said. "They've got another three years after this, whereas I'm off. I'm kind of jealous of them. But I've got two national championships behind my belt and hopefully three this year"
(10/26/06 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Not long ago, Todd Yeagley stumbled across a tape of the 1994 College Cup Championship game. He was in the IU men's soccer team locker room, looking for footage in the team's archives when he saw a copy of his last game as a college soccer player. He had never watched the game before."I almost took it out," Todd Yeagley said, "and I said, 'No.'"The tape remains tucked away in storage, but Todd's memories of the game are vivid. He knows a victory would have been a perfect ending to his college career, a chance for him to give his father -- legendary men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley -- another national championship to hang at the east end of Bill Armstrong Stadium.There was no happy ending to Todd's senior season. He left college soccer with four All-American honors and zero national championships. Less than 10 years later, he came back to the IU sidelines.'These guys were like my older brothers'Jerry Yeagley's IU men's soccer team earned varsity status in 1973, one year after Todd was born. In many ways, Todd grew up at the same time his father's program did.Jerry Yeagley allowed his son to be a ball boy, running around behind the goals at Memorial Stadium, chasing down balls for the Hoosiers."My father was very good allowing me to be around the team," Todd said. "I just have this vision of the football stadium and games. I was pretty young at that point, and it was a pretty cool time for me, being 5, 6 years old."The year Todd turned 10, his dad won his first national championship. He captured a second championship the following year in 1983.Within a couple of years, Todd moved from shagging stray soccer balls to kicking them around with the team."Here I was kicking around with the players," Todd said. "These guys were like my older brothers. They'd always say, 'You do this, you do that, you do this, you could play here.' The nice thing is all these players that were before me, my big brothers that I'd be able to train with, they didn't do any favors by sugarcoating that. I'd be 12 years old, and they'd be kicking the crap out of me in training because they knew it would make me better."In high school, Todd played on a club team composed of students from the two Bloomington high schools with no coach and makeshift uniforms."It was like the Bad News Bears," he said. "We were the Cutters of soccer."Like the legendary Little 500 cycling team made famous by the movie "Breaking Away," Todd's team experienced success.Early high school success did not guarantee Todd would get a chance to pursue a collegiate career at IU."I told him, I said, 'You have to prove that you're, without question, good enough -- one of the top players to play here,'" Jerry Yeagley said. "If he were just a marginal player, I would not have wanted him."For young Todd, his father's ultimatum inspired him."It was a bit of a pressure, but it motivated me," Todd said. "He didn't want people to think I was playing because of the relationship. He didn't need that; I didn't need that. It wouldn't be fair to either one of us."By his junior season of high school, the IU coach told his son he was on pace to play at IU."Coaches would call him first to ask if they could call me or write me or whatever," Todd said. "He put the block on right away and said, 'No, he's going to come play for me.' I never went on an official visit anywhere, which I kept saying, 'Come on, let's go to California.' He kept saying, 'No.'"'Everybody was watching me'In his first game wearing cream and crimson, Todd, a true freshman, scored his first career college goal. It was the start of a season that ended with a Big Ten championship, a trip to the College Cup and All-American honors for the younger Yeagley.Though his father was confident in his ability, Todd said he needed to prove himself that year."I felt pressure to perform well because there were so many layers of expectations that I put on myself, that past players put on me," he said. "My dad downplayed it the most because he knew there was that undue pressure that I put on myself. Everybody was watching me."Even though the season ended when the Hoosiers lost in the first game of the College Cup, Todd said the team "overachieved" because the squad boasted five freshman starters.The next two seasons were disappointing for Todd, especially after nearly competing for a national championship game his freshman year. The NCAA named him an All-American in his sophomore and junior seasons, but the Hoosiers never made it back to the College Cup.All those factors led to high expectations for Todd's senior season.'I can feel the day'After an impressive senior season in which the Missouri Athletic Club named Todd the 1994 National Player of the Year, he and the Hoosiers advanced all the way to the College Cup championship game against the University of Virginia -- the team that had won every College Cup since Todd's freshman year.For Todd's final game, the teams squared off in Davidson, N.C."It was the fitting end is the way we saw it," he said. "Here we are playing against Virginia. Great venue, the place was packed. We were on form, there's no doubt we felt that."Once the game started, Todd knew it wouldn't live up to his expectations."It really wasn't like a lot of finals," he said. "It wasn't a good game. I didn't play well. A lot of my teammates didn't play well."Virginia scored an early goal against IU, and the Hoosiers never countered. They lost 1-0, and at the end of the game, Todd fell to the ground in disbelief."My dad, after the game, I was down on the ground," he said. "He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say anything. It was difficult. He put so much emotion into what that would have been for him."Jerry Yeagley said the loss was heartbreaking."That being his last game and the last time we were together as father and son and player and coach, we were hoping to go out champions," he said. "It was the last time we were together. It made it doubly hard."Though Todd has never watched the tape of the game, he can still replay parts of the game in his mind."There are vivid plays in the game I remember, and I can feel the day, but that was tough," he said. "It was real tough."'It was a roller-coaster ride'After a successful seven-year career playing for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, Todd returned to Bloomington in 2003 as a volunteer assistant coach for the Hoosiers in his father's final coaching year."There's a lot of things that had to fall into place for me to come back," Todd said.With a 2-3-4 record nine games into the season, the Yeagleys wondered whether Jerry's final season would be his least enjoyable."We had the worst record in the history of the program midway through the season," Jerry Yeagley said.From that point on, IU turned it around."It was a roller-coaster ride, especially in the beginning," Todd said.The Hoosiers did not lose another game the rest of the season, winning the College Cup with a 2-1 victory against St. John's University."It was one of my most enjoyable and gratifying years, and having him there my last year made it more special," Jerry Yeagley said. "After we won it, he came up to me and said, 'Hey, Dad, we finally got our championship together.'"Todd said the 2003 championship was so special because of the 1994 College Cup loss."You couldn't have picked a better ending -- an ending for him, a start for me in my coaching career," he said.'It would be hard not to be here'After Jerry Yeagley's retirement, current IU coach Mike Freitag -- one of Jerry Yeagley's "favorite players" -- took over for the legendary coach. Todd became Freitag's assistant.Jerry Yeagley admitted his son is a hot coaching commodity."There are going to be people after him," he said. "There already have been."The younger Yeagley said he hasn't put much thought into the future.He and his dad both agree Freitag should be the coach for as long as he desires, but Todd isn't sure what that means for his future."There's scenarios (where) I could stay here and whatever day Mike retires, if the opportunity presents it, move into the role here as head coach," he said. "Or if another unique situation happens somewhere, I don't know. Probably in five years I will have a much more clear idea."A lot of people ask, 'How long you gonna wait to be a head coach?' Right now it doesn't bother me. I enjoy being an assistant. But yet I feel comfortable that if an opportunity came about, I could handle the challenge, if it was right."However, leaving Bloomington would be a difficult decision for Todd to make."I think the grass always isn't greener. And I have so many emotional ties here, to not think of myself, once Mike is done. It would be hard not to think I would want to be here," he said. "There's a lot of vested interest in this program from my family. It would be hard not to be here."
(10/25/06 4:11am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- It would have been their second loss in as many games, and their second ever loss to Butler University. Two minutes and fifty-four seconds changed all of that. \nTrailing Butler 2-1 with about five minutes to play, the IU men's soccer team scored three goals to trounce the Bulldogs 4-2 Tuesday afternoon. The No. 20 Hoosiers scored three goals in 2:54, after scoring only one goal in the previous 85 minutes. \n"I'll take it in the last five minutes or the first five minutes," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "This team has to find a way to score goals."\nThe four-goal total ties the season high for IU. The Hoosiers lost to Notre Dame 5-4 Sept. 3. \nSenior midfielder Josh Tudela started the scoring onslaught with a five-yard boot between the bars. \n"Once we got that goal, I knew we had the momentum going for us," Tudela said. "I knew if we got it in and got going quick that we could get another one, and that's exactly what we did. I didn't know about two more, but I knew we'd get one more."\nAnd he also knew he didn't want to play overtime. Tudela screamed across the field to his teammates, "Let's finish it right, in regulation."\nThe team finished it. And then some. \nLess than two-and-a-half minutes later, freshman forward Darren Yeagle maneuvered past Butler goalkeeper Frank Peabody and rolled the ball into the net. Twenty-two seconds after that, freshman midfielder Eric Alexander knocked in his third goal of the season into the upper right corner of the Bulldog goal. \nYeagle took Tudela's battlecry to heart. \n"I thought after Tudes (Tudela) scored the second goal, I knew were going to win in regulation," Yeagle said. "I just had that feeling."\nThe time between Yeagle's and Alexander's goals ranks sixth all-time for quickest consecutive goals. \nThe 2:54 difference among the three goals does not even rank among the 10 fastest. But it was still "fun to watch, fun to be a part of," said sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley, who had three assists on the day. \n"I just thought it was some of the best soccer we've played all year -- pinning the ball through and just working it," Ackley said. \nThe Hoosiers went from a two-game skid to their biggest comeback all season. Freitag hoped his team learned something. \n"I think we're a team that likes to possess the ball, but we've also got to find a way to score goals because that's the name of the game," he said. "Hopefully today, games like this prove to them it's not just to possess and look pretty and knock it around."\nAckley hopes so, too, especially heading into Friday's game against Wisconsin. Whoever wins captures the Big Ten regular season championship outright. \n"I'm really excited about this Friday and going into the tournament after that last 10 minutes, if we play like that the rest of the way through"
(10/16/06 4:02am)
With a header from junior defender Greg Stevning and a career game from sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain, the IU men's soccer team spoiled Ohio State's party.\nThe Hoosiers defeated the Buckeyes 1-0 in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday night in front of a record crowd at Ohio State's "Scarlet and Gray Game."\n"We squeaked one through tonight," Stevning said.\nSaturday's victory ensured IU remained the only undefeated team in the Big Ten.\n"(Saturday's game) was a test, a tough test against a team who plays a style that puts us in a position to have to make plays," IU coach Mike Freitag said.\nThe No. 10 Hoosiers are the only Big Ten team to defeat the Buckeyes in Columbus this year. IU is now 32-1-1 all time against the scarlet and gray.\n"This was a continuation of the process of building a team and gaining confidence in every game," Freitag said.\nIn the first half, the Hoosiers and Buckeyes each had their opportunities to score, but neither team found the back of the net.\nWhen the teams took the pitch after halftime, it took the Hoosiers less than six minutes to score.\nAfter IU took a corner kick that Ohio State cleared out of its penalty box, sophomore midfielder John Mellencamp blasted a ball toward Buckeye goalkeeper Casey Latchem.\n"I could kind of tell it wasn't going to go in," said Stevning, who was playing in OSU's penalty box because of the IU corner kick.\nUsing his head, Stevning deflected Mellencamp's shot past Latchem and scored the lone goal for the Hoosiers.\nHowever, Stevning's goal didn't deter the Buckeyes.\n"After the first goal they stepped up," Stevning said. "They took it to us."\nBetween the 57th and 65th minutes, Ohio State attacked the Hoosier goal. In those eight minutes, the Buckeyes launched seven shots, five of which were within range of IU's goal, forcing Cain to make five saves. Ohio State outshot IU 21-12.\n"There were probably three quality chances," Cain said. "They got through on a couple restarts, and luckily I was there to make a few key saves in the second half."\nCain made seven saves Saturday night en route to his third consecutive shutout. Cain did not play in IU's 3-2 win against IU-Purdue University Indianapolis on Tuesday.\n"I feel like I'm gaining more and more confidence in each of the games," he said.\nNot only did the weekend win preserve IU's first-place status in the Big Ten, it also earned Freitag's players a couple days' rest Sunday and Monday, since they won't practice. The Hoosiers don't play again until Saturday when they travel to Penn State.\n"They're going to have a couple days off to regenerate the batteries and clear their minds a little bit," Freitag said. "Then we'll come back and get prepared to go into Happy Valley"
(10/13/06 4:31am)
After a 3-2 overtime win against in-state rival IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley said the IU men's soccer team would win every single game from that point on.\nHis coach called it a strong statement, but Ackley's teammates are confident they can beat any team in the country, especially since the Hoosiers are on a five-game win streak and seven-game unbeaten streak.\nThose streaks are on the line Saturday night when IU travels to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Hoosiers' fourth Big Ten game of the season.\nThe Buckeyes themselves are riding a four-game win streak, during which they defeated two ranked opponents and the reigning Big Ten champion Penn State Nittany Lions.\n"Ohio State's gonna be a very good challenge," sophomore forward Kevin Noschang said. "They're good at home. We're on a win streak. They're on a win streak. It's going to be a battle."\nFreshman forward Darren Yeagle is siting out his third game since contracting mononucleosis.\nNoschang scored his first goal of the season Tuesday against IUPUI, and IU coach Mike Freitag said he believes Noschang can be a factor.\n"If he plays the way he's been playing, he's going to contribute," Freitag said. "Goals are going to come. I don't care who they come from, but if he plays with the conviction he has the last couple weeks, Kevin Noschang can be a threat for teams."\nFor the third time this season, IU will compete in a particularly hostile environment. The Hoosiers recorded two wins -- against the University of Akron and Michigan State -- when those schools attempted to bolster attendance for the cream and crimson's visit. Saturday's game will be the "Scarlet and Gray Game" for the Buckeyes, as they push for a large crowd in an attempt to "Jam the Jesse" -- Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.\n"That's what college soccer's all about, going into somebody's home," Freitag said. "They're looking for their record crowd. They're going to be pumped up to play the Hoosiers. I know my guys will rise to the occasion. They love that environment."\nTo quiet the crowd, the Hoosiers must stop Buckeye forward Xavier Balc, who leads the Big Ten with 19 points (six goals, seven assists).\n"I know that if we come out and play our best we should be able to get a result," sophomore midfielder John Mellencamp said. "It just comes down to making sure we stay focused and tight defensively."\nSaturday's game is also a chance for Mellencamp to battle against some of his good friends who don the scarlet and gray.\n"They're going to come out fired up," he said. "It's a rivalry with me and some of them that none of us are going to want to lose."\nThe Hoosiers are 31-1-1 all-time against the Buckeyes. Last year IU tied OSU 2-2 at home but beat the Buckeyes 3-0 in the Big Ten tournament. The Hoosiers' only loss came in 2000 when Ohio State beat IU in the Big Ten Tournament.
(10/11/06 3:55am)
Kevin Noschang wasn't sure.\nWith his team tied 2-2 two minutes into overtime against instate rival IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, the sophomore forward said he knew his team would win the game, but he was uncertain whether his left-footed shot would end the battle.\n"When I struck it, I questioned whether it would go in or not," he said.\nThe roar of the crowd left no doubt.\nNoschang's left-footed shot from 10 yards out whizzed past Jaguar goalkeeper Drew Deffner and into the net, giving the Hoosiers a 3-2 win.\nNoschang's goal, his first of the season, almost didn't happen. That's because IU almost didn't need to play into overtime. The Hoosiers controlled game tempo and held a two-goal lead late in the game. IU coach Mike Freitag subbed in many of his younger players to give them time on the field. With most of IU's starters on the bench at the 84th minute, Jaguar midfielder Vangel Nacovski netted two goals in less than five minutes to even the match.\nFreitag took the blame for the late lead slip, saying it was unfair to sub players into the game because they were not ready to play.\n"As a coach, I messed up, and I almost put us in a situation to almost lose a game," he said.\nAt the beginning of overtime, Freitag put his starters back in the game. He said he apologized to his team after the game.\n"I take credit for putting the guys in a tough situation," he said. "I am proud of my team, and they bailed me out."\nNoschang said a two-goal lead is the most difficult lead to defend.\nThe Hoosiers might have also forgone the extra period had they finished some of their early chances.\nIU's best chance came midway through the first half when senior forward Kevin Robson took a penalty kick that clanked off the right post.\nSophomore midfielder John Mellencamp said the cream and crimson could have entered halftime with a four-goal-to-none advantage.\n"We could have finished some chances and put them away early, but we didn't," Mellencamp said. "Because of that, it kind of came back and bit us."\nAfter the missed opportunities and the late Jaguar goals, confidence remained high for the team, Mellencamp said.\n"As soon as they scored that goal, you could just see the fire in our guys' eyes just light up," he said. "We knew there was no way we were going to go on that field and lose."\nIf anything, the late win will boost the confidence for the starters who scored in such a short amount of time, Freitag said.\nThat confidence will follow the team the rest of the season, sophomore midfielder Brian Ackley said.\n"We'll win every single game," Ackley said. "I'm not worried about it at all"