Indiana University Athletics
NSCAA Tabs IU Preseason No. 1, Again
8/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 17, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason adidas/National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. It is the second preseason poll that has ranked the Hoosiers at the top this season, along with College Soccer News. It also marks the second straight season the Hoosiers have been ranked preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll.
The Hoosiers are ranked preseason No. 1 by the NSCAA for the fourth time in the last seven years. In fact, Indiana has been the coaches preseason top choice in three of the last four years. IU held down the top spot prior to the season in 2004, 2002 and 1999.
Indiana's schedule will once again be one of the toughest in the nation with eight games against teams ranked in the NSCAA preseason top 25. The Hoosiers will open the regular season with a loaded field in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Along with the top-ranked Hoosiers, No. 7 SMU, No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 16 Notre Dame will all be a part of the action. Indiana will open with Wake Forest on Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m., before facing SMU on Sept. 4.
The following week, IU travels to Notre Dame for the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. In South Bend, Ind., the Hoosiers will face No. 25 Saint Louis for the third straight season after picking up a pair of 2-1 wins in 2003 and 2004. The game will be on Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. IU also will face Boston University at the Tournament.
While the Hoosiers do not face Notre Dame in either of the opening two tournaments, they will see the preseason No. 16 Irish in South Bend on Oct. 26. Three days later, Indiana will face preseason No. 2 Maryland in a rematch of last year's epic College Cup semifinal match. Junior John Michael Hayden headed home the game-winner with 48 seconds remaining in the second overtime to defeat the Terps, 3-2.
The Hoosiers also will look to keep alive their streak of nine straight regular season Big Ten titles. The conference is once again loaded with Ohio State (No. 18), Penn State (No. 23) and Northwestern (No. 24) garnering preseason rankings. Last season, six of the seven Big Ten men's soccer teams were selected into the 48-team NCAA Tournament.
Indiana opens the exhibition portion of its schedule on Friday against No. 9 UCLA at 8 p.m. The game will be played in Fort Wayne, Ind., as part of the IPFW Soccer Showcase. The Hoosiers final exhibition tune up will be on Aug. 27 in Bloomington against Illinois-Chicago. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
adidas/NSCAA Preseason Top 25
1. INDIANA
2. Maryland
3. Duke
4. UC-Santa Barbara
5. St. John's
6. Virginia
7. SMU
8. New Mexico
9. UCLA
10. Wake Forest
11. Virginia Commonwealth
12. Creighton
13. UNC-Greensboro
14. Tulsa
15. Boston College
16. Notre Dame
17. North Carolina
18. Ohio State
19. Connecticut
20. California
21. Santa Clara
22. Old Dominion
23. Penn State
24. Northwestern
25. Saint Louis
