Indiana University Athletics
College Soccer News Releases Preseason Rankings
7/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
July 24, 2006
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana University men's soccer team earned its first preseason rankings on July 24 as College Soccer News ranked Indiana 13th in its preseason top-30 poll. The publication also rated the Hoosiers recruiting class second nationally.
After starting the season with a No. 1 ranking three of the past five years, Indiana will look to use a talented incoming freshman class, plus a strong core of returning players, to overcome the loss of six starters from the 2005 squad.
"I am pleased that Indiana has been recognized as one of the top-20 teams in the country, after losing six starters to the professional ranks. I am excited about this year's squad. We will be challenged by a competitive schedule, and I look forward to a successful season for IU soccer," said head coach Mike Freitag.
Key returning players for the Hoosiers include second team All-Big Ten senior midfielder Josh Tudela, who is the team's leading returning scorer. He netted six goals with five assists last year. Sophomore midfielder Brad Ring was an All-Big Ten Freshman team selection. Rounding out the midfield is senior John Michael Hayden, who earned second team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore.
Defense will also be a strong point, with three-year starter and team captain Julian Dieterle returning to anchor the defense. Juniors Greg Stevning and Charley Traylor will also be key players in the back.
Indiana suffered the most losses at forward, but sophomore Kevin Noschang, senior Kevin Robson, sophomore Billy Weaver and redshirt-freshman Darren Yeagle will all battle for a starting spot.
Maryland, the defending national champions, are ranked No. 1 in the poll. Southern Methodist, North Carolina, Connecticut and Penn State round out the top five, respectively. The Hoosiers are slated to play four of those five teams this season. Indiana will see Maryland in an exhibition contest, and face SMU and UConn in the first five games of the season. The team faces Penn State on Oct. 20 in a game that will be televised by Fox Sports.
Other teams in the top 30 that Indiana will play this year are Akron (No. 7), Creighton (No. 10), Notre Dame (No. 16), and St. Louis (No. 27).
The Hoosiers 2006 recruiting class consists of Eric Alexander (Portage, Mich.), Kevin Alston (Silver Spring, Md.), Daniel Kelly (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville), Ofori Sarkodie (Huber Heights, Ohio) and Neil Wilmarth (Chatham, Ill./Glenwood). Of the five players, three have experience with the U.S. National team, two were named as national players of the year and all five have earned All-America honors.
"I am excited about this class. All of them bring something special to the table. They're winners, and I expect them to bring success to the IU soccer program," Freitag said.
Alexander, a midfielder, is the second-straight Gatorade National Boys Player of the Year to sign with the Hoosiers. He was also the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Boys High School National Player of the Year and Michigan's Mr. Soccer. Sarkodie is also one of the top youth players in the country, as the NSCAA/adidas National Youth Player of the Year. He was a two-year member of the Under-17 National team, and served as a team-captain while playing back. Sarkodie played with the Hoosiers during the spring campaign.
Alston and Kelly also have experience on the international level with the U-17 National team. Alston, a midfielder who also enrolled at IU during the spring, was a PARADE Magazine All-American, while Kelly, also a midfielder, earned NSCAA All-America accolades in 2005. Wilmarth earned All-America honors from the NSCAA and Soccer America, and has the potential to see significant playing time at forward as a freshman.
The criteria College Soccer News used to rank the classes applied a lot of weight to the extent to which a recruiting class filled the perceived gaps a team needed to fill, as well as the overall potential of the recruits to increase the competitiveness of the team. Individual players were evaluated based on a combination of their high school, club, ODP, and regional and national experience.
UCLA was ranked as the No. 1 recruiting class, while North Carolina, Maryland and New Mexico round out the top five, respectively.
The Hoosiers open their season on Aug. 15 with an exhibition game against Illinois-Chicago in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
2006 College Soccer News Preseason Top-30 National Poll
1. Maryland
2. Southern Methodist
3. North Carolina
4. Connecticut
5. Penn State
6. Virginia
7. Akron
8. UCLA
9. New Mexico
10. Creighton
11. South Florida
12. Duke
13. INDIANA
14. California
15. Clemson
16. Notre Dame
17. St. John's
18. UNC-Greensboro
19. Wake Forest
20. Old Dominion
21. UC Santa Barbara
22. San Francisco
23. Cal State Northridge
24. San Diego State
25. Virginia Tech
26. Santa Clara
27. St. Louis
28. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
29. South Carolina
30. Ohio State
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon State, Seton Hall, Hartwick, LMU, N.C. State, Brown, Hofstra, Dartmouth, Washington, Vermont, Duquesne, Wisconsin, UC Irvine, James Madison, Rutgers
