Indiana University Athletics
Championship Traditions Collide in International Friendly
4/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
April 5, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - For the second consecutive spring, soccer excellence will be on display with an international friendly between two storied champions. The seven-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team will host the 2006 FIFA World Youth champion Mexican Youth National team at Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. The event will be sponsored by Carey Indiana, Hampton Inn and Bucceto's Pizza and Pasta.
"We are once again delighted and honored to play a team with the tradition and success of Mexico," Indiana head coach Mike Freitag said. "Last year, it was an exciting match showcasing skillful and attacking soccer from both squads. They are the defending world champions in their age group, and we look forward to competing against an opponent of this caliber."
Through their partnership with the Indiana University Student Foundation, IU Soccer is excited to kick off Little 500 week. Indiana Youth Soccer will assist IU Soccer in promoting this special International soccer event through their membership across the state of Indiana. General admission for the game is $5 and children under 2 are free. The rate for groups of 20 or more is $3 per ticket for the event. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or by calling the IU Athletic Ticket Office at 866-IUSPORTS. Group discounts are available by contacting the ticket office.
In the 2005 affair, the Mexican Youth National Team claimed an exciting, 2-1, victory over the Hoosiers in front of a raucous crowd of 3,472. In the 18th minute of play, Mexico's Efrain Juarez scored the first goal of the game. Junior midfielder John Michael Hayden scored the equalizer for the Hoosiers in the 36th minute on a curling shot to the left post. Mexico scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute on a picturesque shot that Heriberto Beltran placed over the outstretched arms of IU goalkeeper Chris Munroe. Despite allowing two goals, Munroe turned in a remarkable performance with 10 saves.
The game was part of Mexico's preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Youth Championships. They went on to capture the world championship at the event with a 3-0 victory over Brazil.
Indiana returns five starters and 18 letterwinners from the 2005 team that went 13-3-6 overall. The Hoosiers were the third seed in the NCAA Tournament before falling in the second round. Junior midfielder Josh Tudela is the Hoosiers' top returning scorer at 17 points with six goals and five assists. IU also returns a solid nucleus on the defensive end as Chris Munroe posted a 0.71 goals against average with 57 saves and 10 shutouts in 2005. Sophomore Greg Stevning started 20 games on the back line with junior Julian Dieterle starting 22 games and sophomore Charley Traylor starting eight. The Hoosiers also added a pair of U.S. Youth International players in freshmen Ofori Sarkodie and Kevin Alston. The pair started for the U.S. Under-17 National team at the FIFA World Youth Championship and enrolled at IU in January.
