Indiana University Athletics
Men's Soccer Releases 2006 Schedule
5/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
May 8, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head men's soccer coach Mike Freitag released the 2006 schedule for the seven-time national champion Hoosiers. The schedule includes eight games in the friendly confines of Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium. Also included on the 18-game docket are seven matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2005 and five teams ranked among the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas top-10 poll. Click HERE for the complete 2006 IU Soccer schedule.
The 18 teams on the Hoosiers' 2006 schedule racked up a combined 183-130-49 record and a winning percentage of .573. The group of seven teams that advanced to 2005 NCAA Tournament include Creighton, Notre Dame, Connecticut, SMU, Akron, Ohio State and Penn State.
"We always try to play the most competitive schedule in the country, and I think this year is no different from years past," Freitag said. "If you look at the schedule with Notre Dame and UConn from the Big East along with Creighton, Saint Louis, Akron and SMU, those are non-Big Ten teams that are powers in the country. The Big Ten is always tough and getting tougher each year. This is why players come to IU, they want to play the best in the country. We want to be challenged and see where we stand."
For the first time since the 1997 season, the Hoosiers will open the season away from Bloomington. Indiana will take part in the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, Aug. 25-27 in South Bend, Ind. IU will open with NCAA Quarterfinalist Creighton on Friday, Aug. 25, at 5 p.m. Creighton posted a 15-5-3 record a season ago and fell to Clemson, 1-0, in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The matchup with the Blue Jays will be the first between the two schools since Creighton won a 2-1 triple-overtime affair in the 2000 College Cup semifinals. IU closes out the tournament against former IU assistant coach and player Mike Getman and his UAB Blazers. IU and UAB have played to draws in their other two contests (1996 and 2003).
The Hoosiers open the home slate when they host the 24th annual adidas/IU Credit Union Classic on Sept. 1-3. The field consists of Connecticut, Notre Dame and Saint Louis. IU will meet Connecticut at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. Connecticut finished the season at 16-3-2, including a 7-3-1 mark in the Big East. The Huskies were ranked ninth in the final NSCAA/adidas poll after not advancing past the third round of the NCAA Tournament, when Akron got the best of them in penalty kicks. Notre Dame and Saint Louis will battle on Friday at 5 p.m.
"It is a little bit different this year with UConn coming to our classic," Freitag said. "UConn and Notre Dame didn't want to play each other twice in the same year. So instead of Notre Dame being our playing partner, Saint Louis will be our partner. We will play Notre Dame and UConn in kind of a Big East challenge of sorts. We obviously want a little bit of revenge against Notre Dame for knocking us out of the tournament last year. UConn is always a power. We look forward to an exciting classic with Saint Louis giving it a little more flare."
On day two of the classic, the Hoosiers will face Notre Dame in a rematch of the second round NCAA Tournament game from a season ago. The Hoosiers and Irish were 1-1 against one another in 2005 with IU winning at Notre Dame, 3-0, and the Irish claiming a 2-0 win in the NCAA Tournament in Bloomington. The tilt is slated for 2 p.m. Connecticut and Saint Louis will play in the first affair of the day at noon.
Indiana then travels to Dallas, Texas, to take part in the SMU Tournament. Indiana will face the host Mustangs for the second straight season on Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. IU defeated SMU, 4-0, at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in 2005. The Mustangs went on to post a 14-6-3 record and advanced to the College Cup before falling to eventual national champion Maryland, 4-1. The Hoosiers will also play Tulsa on Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. The two teams met in the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2004, with IU notching a 4-0 victory on its way to the program's seventh national title.
Indiana will have back-to-back marquee non-conference affairs on the road against Saint Louis and Akron. The Hoosiers and Billikens have won a combined 17 national championships between them, and sit one-two all-time in national titles, NCAA Tournament wins and College Cup appearances. The two teams will meet at Robert H. Hermann Stadium in St. Louis on Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. The stadium will be the site of the 2006 NCAA College Cup.
"It will be rocking and rolling in St. Louis," Freitag said. "St. Louis is a soccer town, and they know what Indiana Soccer is all about. We have a lot of good alums in St. Louis, so it will be an exciting evening for soccer. It will be a packed house, and hopefully, we can be playing there in December for the College Cup as well."
Indiana travels to Akron on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m., and will see some familiar faces across the way. Former IU assistant coach and player Caleb Porter took over the reigns of the Zips program during the off-season and took along with him volunteer assistant coach Dave Giffard. The two teams played an epic battle at the end of the 2005 regular season. IU defeated previously unbeaten and then-No. 1 Akron, 1-0, on an overtime goal by Brian Plotkin in front of 4,884 fans at Armstrong Stadium. The Zips finished the year at 18-1-4 and failed to advance in the NCAA Tournament as Maryland knocked them off in penalty kicks.
The Hoosiers also will have non-conference contests against regional and in-state rivals. IU hosts Kentucky for a midweek affair on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m., before battling Louisville on Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., at Armstrong Stadium. Indiana hosts IUPUI on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., and travels to Butler on Oct. 24, at 4 p .m. The Hoosiers defeated both opponents during the 2006 spring season with a 4-1 win over IUPUI and a 3-0 victory over Butler.
IU will once again battle a tougher and stronger Big Ten Conference field. The conference saw three teams advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2005 after six of the seven league teams earned a bid in 2004. The Hoosiers will host Michigan (Sept. 24 at 2:30 p.m.), Northwestern (Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.) and Wisconsin (Oct. 27 at 8 p.m.) in conference play, while traveling to Michigan State (Oct. 1 at noon), Ohio State (Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.) and Penn State (Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.).
"I am looking forward to going to Penn State," Freitag said. "Last year, Penn State had our number twice in games where I didn't feel that we deserved a loss. Hopefully we can go in there and beat them on their home turf like they did to us last year."
The exhibition part of the schedule will include a pair of matches against Illinois-Chicago and Maryland. The Hoosiers will play both contests in Ft. Wayne, Ind., with the contest against Maryland coming as part of the IPFW Soccer Showcase. IU battles UIC for the second straight exhibition season on Aug. 15 at 5 p.m. Indiana defeated the Flames, 2-1, in Bloomington as part of the 2005 exhibition ledger. A pair of familiar faces will accompany UIC, as the Flames are coached by former IU player and assistant coach John Trask. He is assisted by former IU player and assistant Sean Phillips.
The exhibition portion of the schedule will close with a rematch of Soccer America's top game of the 2005 season. IU will battle Maryland at the IPFW Soccer Showcase on Friday, August 18. The Hoosiers came back from a three-goal deficit for the first time in school history with a trio of second-half markers to tie the Terps, 3-3, in College Park, Md., on October 26. The match up will also pit the last two national champions against one another.
The 2006 Big Ten Tournament will be played in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 2-5. The 2006 NCAA Tournament will start with first round competition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, with the 2006 NCAA College Cup played in St. Louis, Dec. 1-3.
