Indiana University Athletics
2006 Men's Soccer Season In Review
12/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 13, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.- After starting the year with several question marks, the 2006 Indiana men's soccer team turned around a slow start to win the Big Ten regular season and the Big Ten Championship. Making their 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the Hoosiers reached the third round before a heartbreaking elimination in penalty kicks. Indiana finished the season ranked ninth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll with a 15-4-3 record.
In the preseason, head coach Mike Freitag found himself facing the loss of six starters from the 2005 season, all of whom had moved on to the professional ranks. Behind the leadership of seniors Julian Dieterle, John Michael Hayden, Josh Tudela and Kevin Robson, eight players of either freshman or sophomore standing each played their way into the starting lineup throughout the course of the year.
Tudela was named as the Big Ten Player of the Year and to the NSCAA All-America third-team. Freshman Darren Yeagle, who tied for the team lead with seven goals despite sitting out four games with illness, earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Freitag was recognized as Big Ten Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.
Sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain was named a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American for his accomplishments in the classroom.
Hayden and Tudela were both named first team All-Big Ten, and also earned All-Great Lakes Region honors. Yeagle and junior Greg Stevning were named to the All-Big Ten second team. Freshmen Eric Alexander, Ofori Sarkodie and Yeagle were all placed on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Sophomore Brian Ackley led the Hoosiers in points with 19 (seven goals, five assists). Yeagle totaled 16 points (seven goals, two assists). Robson, who started in 17 games in his senior campaign, tallied 12 points with three goals and a team-high six assists. Alexander was also in double digits in points with 10 (three goals, four assists).
Behind the solid play in goal of Cain, Indiana had 11 shutouts on the year. Cain ended the year with a 0.57 goals against average, good for eighth in the country. On the backline, Dieterle, Stevning, Sarkodie and junior Charley Traylor consistently shut down their opponents' attack.
The Hoosiers started their season off strong, winning the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame, defeating No. 8 Creighton 1-0 and UAB, 2-1. Ackley earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring goals in both games.
Indiana then hit a rough five-game stretch in which it went 1-3-1 against No. 2 Connecticut, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 3 Southern Methodist and Saint Louis. Its lone win during the stretch was a 2-1 overtime victory against Tulsa.
The tough early schedule proved to be beneficial to the Hoosiers in the long run. Indiana began to turn its season around against No. 21 Akron. Indiana defeated the Zips 2-0 behind goals from sophomore Brad Ring and Yeagle.
After opening the Big Ten campaign with a come-from-behind 2-2 tie with Michigan, Indiana began a six-game winning streak with a 1-0 overtime victory against Kentucky. Ackley scored the game-winner for the Hoosiers.
The team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Michigan State in overtime, 2-1, on Yeagle's golden goal. Alexander tallied his first two goals of the year in a 2-0 win over Louisville and a 1-0 victory against Northwestern. The Hoosiers also earned a 3-2 win in overtime against IUPUI.
Indiana's defense led the Hoosiers to a 1-0 victory over Ohio State, with Cain tallying seven saves on the night. He faced several shots at point-blank range in the game.
The Hoosiers proved their mettle in a hard-fought 4-2 victory against Butler. Down 2-1 with six minutes remaining in the game, Indiana scored three goals in the final minutes to come away with the win.
A tough 1-0 loss to Penn State set up a showdown with Wisconsin for the Big Ten regular season championship in Bloomington on Oct. 27. With the game played in wet conditions, freshman Lee Hagedorn scored his first career goal in the 78th minute to give Indiana the 1-0 victory and the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Receiving a first-round bye with the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana garnered its revenge on Penn State with a 1-0 victory on a blast off the foot of Yeagle. The Hoosiers had previously lost three straight games to the Nittany Lions.
The Hoosiers moved to the Big Ten championship game to take on host Ohio State. The Indiana defense once again stepped up against the Buckeyes. Cain made six saves in goal for Indiana, and the defense blocked five shots on the afternoon. Ackley tallied the only goal of the game, rebounding Tudela's free kick from off the crossbar and into the net. Ackley and Cain were named Offensive and Defensive Player of the Championship, respectively.
Indiana was seeded seventh for the NCAA Championships, earning a first-round bye. The Hoosiers opened the tournament at home against Northern Illinois. Ackley converted a pair of passes from Robson and sophomore John Mellencamp to net the only goal of the game in the 20th minute. The Huskies' best chance came in the 25th minute after earning a penalty kick. Cain made a kick save on the shot to preserve the shutout.
The Hoosiers were matched up with No. 10 seed Santa Clara, a team that Indiana has a long history of facing in NCAA Tournament competition, in the third round. After four periods of scoreless soccer, Indiana fell 5-4 in a shootout with the Broncos.
Despite the tough end to its season, Indiana came a long way throughout the course of the year. A solid core of starters and reserves will return for the Hoosiers in 2007, as they continue their quest for NCAA title number eight.
