Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Travel to Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament
9/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2005
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Bloomington, Ind. - The two-time defending national champion and consensus No. 1 Indiana men's soccer team will take part in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament for the third straight season. The Hoosiers will open with Saint Louis at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, followed by a Sunday affair with Boston University at 11:30 a.m. Both matches will be played at Alumni Field.
In 2004, the Hoosiers captured the tournament title with victories over Cal State-Fullerton, 2-1, in double overtime and Evansville, 4-0. The previous season, the Hoosiers with 1-1 at the Berticelli Memorial Tournament, falling 1-0 to Akron and defeating Fresno State, 3-1.
Scouting Saint Louis
Saint Louis went 1-1 in its opening weekend of play. The Billikens defeated UMKC, 3-0, at Robert R. Hermann Stadium before falling to then-No. 3 Duke, 3-1, at the same venue.
Led by fifth year head coach Dan Donigan, the Billikens return eight starters and 17 lettermen from the 2004 season. Saint Louis went 9-8-1 a season ago, including a 2-1 loss in overtime to IU.
Freshman Dado Hamzagic leads Saint Louis with five points on two goals and one assist. He scored the eventual game-winner in the victory over UMKC and assisted on the lone Billiken goal against Duke.
Junior midfielder John DiRaimondo was among 25 players named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch list. He also was a preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection. In 2005, he has two assists.
In the contest at Saint Louis last season, the Hoosiers scored in the opening minutes of the match on a goal by Jordan Chirico. After the Billikens tied the match up in the final seconds of regulation, Jacob Peterson knocked in the game-winner in the early stages of overtime.
Indiana has won the last two matches between the two squads and five of the last six. The Hoosiers are 17-7-3 against the Billikens since 1973.
Scouting Boston University
Boston University enters the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament with a 1-1 mark on the season. The Terriers opened the year up with a 3-2 overtime victory over the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) before falling to No. 15 Boston College, 1-0.
Against NJIT, Jamie Johnson, the Terriers' second-leading scorer from a season ago, led the way with two goals and an assist. Johnson along with Chin Sedrick assisted on the game-winner to Neil Hlavaty in the 104th minute.
The Terriers were voted the preseason favorite for the America East title. Boston won the conference title in 2004, going 6-2-1 in America East action. They were 10-8-3 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, following a victory over Dartmouth in penalty kicks.
Boston head coach Neil Roberts, in his 21st season, was named the America East Coach of the Year in 2004. He returns eight starting players, including a trio of all-conference selections. Johnson was a first-team All-America East last season, while Zach Kirby and Chin were second-team honorees.
The Hoosiers and Terriers met to open the season in 2004. IU picked up a 3-2 overtime victory on a goal by Jacob Peterson. Brian Plotkin scored the equalizer in the match in the 88th minute. Mike Ambersley put the Hoosiers on the board to start the match, scoring his first goal of the season in the first half. Indiana is 3-0 all-time against Boston University.
North Central Trio Starts Together
For the third time in school history, a trio of high school teammates started together. On Sept. 2, sophomores Charley Traylor, Greg Stevning and Chris Munroe started together for the first time in their IU careers. They were all members of the same recruiting class three years ago after playing for North Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind. They have started two matches together in 2005.
Ironically enough, the last time three players from the same high school started together was 1983. That year, the Hoosiers went on to win their second of back-to-back national championships. The trio of Dave Boncek, Pat McGauley and Keith Meyer started 18 matches together and played in all 25 together during the season. All three scored a goal in the same game on Oct. 26, 1983 against Louisville, a 14-0 victory.
The first time three teammates from the same high school started together was 1976, when Mark Simanton, Cary Feld and George Perry helped IU advance to the national title game before falling to San Francisco, 1-0. They started two matches out of the 20 during the 1976 campaign.
In the 33-year history of IU Soccer, three players from the same high school have appeared on the roster at the same time on 14 occasions. The 14 years consists of a total of eight groups of players.
High School - Players - Year
1) New Trier West High School (Illinois) - Mark Simanton, Cary Feld, George Perry - 1976, 1977
2) St. Mary's (Missouri) - Dave Boncek, Pat McGauley, Keith Meyer - 1981, 1982, 1983
3) Vianney (Missouri) - Mike Hylla, Tim Hylla and Mike McCartney - 1983, 1984
4) Christian Brothers (Missouri) - Bryan Denham, Ken Godat, John Johnson - 1986
5) Carmel (Indiana) - Dan Coots, Matt Coyer and Dean Kapsalis - 1991
6) De Smet Jesuit (Missouri) - Chris Klein, Harry Weiss and David Popp - 1995
7) North Central (Indiana) - Rashaad Frazier, Tony Harris and Tommy Keenan - 1996
8) North Central (Indiana) - Chris Munroe, Greg Stevning, Charley Traylor - 2003, 2004, 2005
IU Sweeps Big Ten Players of the Week
Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin and sophomore back Greg Stevning were named Big Ten Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, after leading the consensus No. 1 Hoosiers to the 2005 adidas/IU Credit Union Classic title. Indiana knocked off No. 10 Wake Forest, 1-0, to open the classic before topping No. 7 SMU, 4-0.
The Big Ten honor marks the second time in Plotkin's career he has been named Offensive Player of the Week. The two-time first team All-Big Ten selection earned the distinction on Nov. 10, 2003, after scoring a goal and registering an assist in Indiana's 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Penn State. The accolade is the first career honor for Stevning.
Plotkin was voted the Offensive Most Valuable Player at the 23rd annual adidas/IU Credit Union Classic by the media. The Lisle, Ill., native scored the game-winner in both matches. Against Wake Forest, Plotkin unleashed a shot from 25 yards out toward the right post that hit the back of the net in the 82nd minute.
He scored the eventual game-winner against SMU on a header in the 12th minute. The Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy candidate also had an assist against the Mustangs and was named to the All-Tournament team.
Stevning also received the Defensive Most Valuable Player at the classic by the media. The Indianapolis, native organized a Hoosier defense from the center back position that held a pair of top-10 programs without a goal in two matches.
Honors Continue for Plotkin
Along with earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors, senior midfielder Brian Plotkin was named the IU Athlete of the Week and selected for the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. He earned the honors after scoring the game-winning goals in victories over top-10 foes Wake Forest and SMU.
For the second time in his career, Plotkin was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. After notching the game-winning goals against top-10 foes Wake Forest and SMU, the Lisle, Ill., native was named to the 11-player team. He also earned the honor on Nov. 10, 2003 after helping the Hoosiers' to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Penn State.
Classic Review
For the third straight season, the Hoosiers won the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. IU defeated then-No. 10 Wake Forest, 1-0, and then-No. 7 SMU, 4-0, to take home the classic championship.
Senior Brian Plotkin scored the game-winner in both matches to take home the Offensive MVP honors. He notched the game-winner in the 82nd minute against the Demon Deacons off the assist from junior John Michael Hayden. Plotkin's game-winner against SMU came in the 12th minute off a cross from senior Mike Ambersley.
The duo of Ambersley and Plotkin got together again in the 12th minute against the Mustangs. This time, Plotkin fed Ambersley for the marker. Hayden added another header in the 22nd minute to push the IU advantage to 3-0 before halftime. Ambersley and junior Josh Tudela assisted on the tally. Tudela added one of his own in the second half with a nifty spin move off the pass from junior Kevin Robson.
Plotkin, Ambersley, senior Jordan Chirico and freshman Lee Nguyen were all named to the classic All-Tournament team. Sophomore Greg Stevning was named the Defensive MVP in helping the Hoosiers to a pair of clean sheets. Ambersley made it a clean sweep of the classic awards, garnering the Fair Play Award given by the classic officials.
