Indiana University Athletics
Ackley Scores Game-Winner Against UIC
8/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 15, 2006
Fort Wayne, Ind. - Sophomore Brian Ackley scored the only goal of the contest to give the Indiana University men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Illinois-Chicago in the Hoosiers' first exhibition game of the season on Tuesday evening at the Fort Wayne Sports Club.
Ackley scored in the extended second overtime period, netting a shot into the upper left corner of the net off a feed from freshman Lee Hagedorn.
"It was a well-taken shot," said head coach Mike Freitag. "I thought Brian played well up top. He's composed on the ball, good in the air, and took the ball very well."
The Hoosiers struggled offensively, taking just seven shots, while the Flames had 13. A number of players had opportunities to score, but could not put the ball in the net.
While Freitag is pleased that the team found a way to come back and win, he felt that there were also areas for improvement.
"Overall, I thought we were the second best team on the field." Freitag said. "That could be for a lot of reasons. All-in-all, it was a good game for us because we're going to learn from it. The promising thing was that we found a way to win.
"I thought we were very soft defensively tonight. It seemed like they had a little more bounce in their step."
While the starting lineup had several familiar faces from last season, including seniors Julian Dieterle, Josh Tudela, John Michael Hayden, and Kevin Robson, as well as sophomores Brad Ring and Kevin Noschang, freshmen Ofori Sarkodie, Kevin Alston and Darren Yeagle all saw significant minutes for the Hoosiers in starting roles.
Sophomore John Mellencamp played for the entire second half as a sub and had a key header that kept the game scoreless, while Ackley, Hagedorn, junior Kyle Schwartz and freshman Eric Alexander also saw time in reserve.
In goal, junior Chris Munroe played the first half, making two saves, while sophomore Chay Cain manned the posts for the remaining periods, making six saves.
UIC, which held an 11-8 advantage in corner kicks, forced several strong saves out of both goalkeepers.
The Hoosiers return to the field on Friday, Aug. 14 at the IPFW Soccer Showcase to close out the exhibition campaign. Indiana will take on the defending national champion Maryland Terrapins at 8 p.m.
