Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Host Illinois-Chicago in Exhibition Finale
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 25, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team will entertain Illinois-Chicago in a home exhibition on Saturday. The contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium.
The match will be a homecoming for UIC head coach John Trask and assistant coach Sean Phillips. Both Phillips and Trask were players and assistants at Indiana. Trask was a player from 1984-87 and an assistant coach from 1991-99. Phillips played at Indiana from 1991-93 and was the program's volunteer assistant from 2000-02 and 2004.
Tickets will be sold at the gate. Adult tickets are $5, while youth (grades 12 and under) tickets are $3. Children two and under along with IU students showing a valid IU ID get in free.
The Hoosiers open the year ranked No. 1 in the country in four national polls. IU dons the top spot in the adidas/National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Soccer America, College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer polls.
Illinois-Chicago enters the match up after picking up a 4-0 victory over IUPUI as part of the IPFW Soccer Showcase on Aug. 20. The Flames got a pair of goals from sophomore Pavle Dudjer to go along with markers from sophomore Cesar Zambrano and senior Jed Schenkier.
Indiana played No. 9 (NSCAA) UCLA to a 1-1 draw in the premier match up at the IPFW Soccer Showcase. Redshirt freshman Kevin Noschang scored the opening goal of the match in the 23rd minute. Junior Jacob Peterson notched the assist on the goal, finding Noschang in open space. The Bruins scored the equalizer in the second half on a header.
IU is led by a trio of players named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Peterson was joined by fellow classmate Jed Zayner and senior Brian Plotkin on the 25-player preseason list. Those players are considered to be the top returning players in college soccer. Peterson and Zayner also made headlines with preseason All-America selections. Both players were named second team preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News, while Peterson was one of 11 players named to Soccer America's Preseason All-America Team.
UIC finished the 2004 season with a 5-12-2 mark, including a 3-3-1 record in the Horizon League. Trask and Phillips both are in their first seasons with the Flames. Illinois-Chicago returns nine starters and 13 letterwinners from last season's squad.
The match with Illinois-Chicago will be the final tune up before the Hoosiers hit the pitch to open the regular season. Indiana begins its title defense against a loaded field at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. The Hoosiers will welcome No. 7 SMU, No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 16 Notre Dame to Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium for the 23rd annual event. IU will take on Wake Forest on Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. Notre Dame and SMU will open the Classic at 5 p.m. On Sept. 4, Wake Forest will take on Notre Dame at noon before the Hoosiers face SMU at 2 p.m.
