Juergen Sommer started as a walk-on goalie at IU, and now he is the first head coach of Indianapolis’ professional soccer team, the Indy Eleven.The team announced Sommer as the coach and Director of Soccer Operations Tuesday.While at IU, Sommer led the Hoosiers to their third NCAA Championship in 1988.He recorded 57 career wins in goal, good for third all-time in the IU history books.In 1989, Sommer guided the Hoosiers back to a Final Four appearance.He finished his collegiate career in 1990 by being named Soccer America’s Goalkeeper of the Year.“Juergen has overachieved at every level and has wonderful tactical awareness of the game,” former IU Coach Jerry Yeagley said in a press release. “But the most important trait he possesses is that he is extremely good at building personal relationships. As the coach of a new professional team you need someone that can pull everything together and create the chemistry needed to make your club a championship caliber program, and Juergen is the ideal choice to do that.”Sommer appeared in eight caps for the U.S. national team between 1994 and 1998, earning spots on both the `94 and `98 World Cup rosters.He became the first American goalkeeper to play in the prestigious English Premier League in 1995, guarding the goal for the Queens Park Rangers. He made 60 appearances for QPR.Sommer returned to the U.S. and Major League Soccer in 1998, joining the Columbus Crew, and then the New England Revolution in 2000.“The mentorship of some tremendous coaches throughout my career, including several from right here in Indiana, has prepared me for this opportunity,” Sommer said in a press release. “And I relish the challenge of serving in that role.”The Indy Eleven will begin play in 2014 in the North American Soccer League, the second-highest level of professional soccer in the U.S.— Robby Howard
