Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers to Play Illinois-Chicago in First Exhibition
8/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 14, 2006
Bloomington, Ind. - The Indiana University men's soccer team will play its first contest of the season on Tuesday, Aug. 15 with an exhibition match against the University of Illinois-Chicago at 5 p.m. at the Fort Wayne Sports Club.
For the Hoosiers, this first exhibition comes less than a week after the players began practice. Head coach Mike Freitag is pleased with what he has seen so far.
"Little by little the guys are getting to know each other, and getting an understanding of how we want them to play as a unit," Freitag said. "A lot of guys are playing well right now. Although two-a-days can get tiring, overall I am very happy with everyone's play at this point in time."
Indiana returns five starters from last year, when the Hoosiers finished 13-3-6. Senior midfielder Josh Tudela and senior back Julian Dieterle, as team captains, will be looked to for leadership and experience. Other returning starters include senior John Michael Hayden, senior back Greg Stevning and junior goalkeeper Chris Munroe.
Freitag says that one of the biggest things he will be looking at during the scrimmage is the team defense.
"You have to be solid defensively, Freitag said. "We're working with a fairly new system for us. Everyone knows their roles, and we want the team to be able to work together as a unit and be able to defend."
Illinois-Chicago, which finished last season with a 10-5 overall record, returns its leading scorer from last season in junior Pavle Dundjer, who had seven goals and eight assists for 22 points. Other strong players include seniors Tonci Skroce (8 goals, 3 assists), Pawel Otachel, Derek Kosek, and sophomore Pat McMahon.
The Flames are coached by former Hoosier John Trask.
