Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Travel To Saint Louis for Nationally Televised Game
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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Sept. 12, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana travels to Saint Louis to play the Billikens on Friday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on CSTV at 8 p.m. eastern time.
Hoosier News and Notes
• The No. 9 Hoosiers split a pair of games at the SMU Mi Cocina Classic, Sept. 8-9, falling 1-0 to No. 3 SMU before defeating Tulsa in overtime,2-1.
• Senior Kevin Robson and junior Greg Stevning were both named to the all-tournament team of the Classic.
• The Saint Louis game will mark the first time this season Indiana will play on television. Friday night's game will be on CSTV.
• Indiana moved up one spot in the NSCAA poll this week, from No. 10 to No. 9.
Scouting Saint Louis
• The Billikens are 2-2-1 on the year. They are coming off a 2-0 win over Navy in Santa Clara, Calif. Saint Louis also fell 4-1 to No. 12 Santa Clara on its west coast trip.
• The team has jumped in and out of the national rankings. They were ranked at No. 18 by the NSCAA after the first two weeks of the season.
• Senior John DiRaimondo leads the team with three goals and two assists this season. All three of his goals this year came against No. 2 Connecticut in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. Calum Angus has two goals and an assist for five points.
• On defense, Dan Guffey, Mo Benne and Casey Spiess have held opponents to six goals this season.
• Nick Billman and Ross Kaufman have both seen action in goal. Billman has made 11 saves in four games, while Kaufman has three saves in two games.
Long Traditions
• The Hoosiers and the Billikens are arguably two of the nation's premier NCAA soccer programs.
• Saint Louis has 10 NCAA titles, while Indiana is second on the all-time list with seven NCAA titles. However, Saint Louis has not won an NCAA title since 1973, the same year that the Indiana soccer program became a varsity program. In comparison, the Hoosiers last won the NCAA championship in 2004.
• All-time, the Hoosiers hold a 17-7-4 record against the Billikens. Last year the two teams played to a 1-1 tie.
A Homecoming of Sorts
• The trip to St. Louis marks a homecoming for several Hoosiers, including head coach Mike Freitag. Freitag attended Christian Brothers High School in St. Louis before enrolling at Indiana in 1976.
• Senior Kevin Robson attended Chaminade High School, in St. Peter's, Mo., just outside of St. Louis.
• In addition, backup goalkeeper Joe Andrews attended De Smet Jesuit in St. Louis.
Hoosiers on Television
• Indiana is scheduled to have two regular season games air on television, beginning with Saint Louis, which will air on CSTV.
• The Hoosiers are also scheduled to play Penn State on Fox Soccer Channel on Oct. 20.
• In the past eight years, Indiana is 14-5-2 on television.
Coach's Corner
Head coach Mike Freitag shared his thoughts on the SMU Mi Cocina Classic, and he previews the upcoming game with Saint Louis.
St. Louis is a soccer town. We have so many alumni that have come from St. Louis, and we always want to play well in front of them. Being from St. Louis, I have a special interest in this game. I watched them growing up. It's always nice to play a program with such a deep tradition, like ours.
The presence of television adds another dimension to this game. We want to do well to show everyone how our team is this year.
The team was disappointed in their overall performance against Tulsa. They were happy with the results, but felt they could have played better. I don't feel like we've played as well in the second game of the two-game weekend tournaments we started the season with. We'll be fresh and ready to go on Friday night.
Battle In Goal
• One of the toughest battles early in the year has been at the goalkeeper position. Junior Chris Munroe and sophomore Chay Cain have both seen action in goal.
• Cain has started four of the Hoosiers' six games, including the last two. He has a goals against average of 0.93 with five saves.
• Munroe started against No. 8 Creighton and No. 15 Notre Dame. He has made five saves on the year.
Outshooting Opponents
• The Hoosiers are averaging 17 shots per game, while their opponents are averaging just 8.2 shots per game.
• On three occasions this year, Indiana has held its opponents to six shot or less. The team outshot No. 8 Creighton 22-6, UAB 19-5 and No. 2 Connecticut 17-3.
• No. 2 Connecticut was held without a shot until the 74th minute of the game.
Youth Reigns
• Freshman Darren Yeagle leads the team with seven points (3 goals, 1 assist). He scored the golden goal against Tulsa to give the Hoosiers a 2-1 win.
• Sophomore Brian Ackley has three goals on the year. He scored the equalizer against Tulsa in the 85th minute.
Can I Help You?
• Seniors John Michael Hayden and Kevin Robson each have three assists on the season.
• Hayden had assists against No. 8 Creighton, UAB and No. 15 Notre Dame.
• Robson had two assists against Tulsa, as well as an assist against No. 2 Connecticut.
Quick Goal
• Sophomore Brian Ackley and freshman Darren Yeagle teamed up to score the second-quickest goal to start a game in Indiana history, against UAB on Aug. 27. After quickly gaining control of the ball, the Hoosiers drove down the field where Yeagle passed to Ackley, who headed it into the net at the 26 second mark.
• The record for the fastest goal in Hoosier history to start a match is 16 seconds, done by Mike Hylla against Saint Louis on October 2, 1982.
Quick Goals II
• Against Notre Dame, sophomore Brad Ring and freshman Darren Yeagle each scored goals, which came 17 seconds apart. They were the fourth-fastest consecutive goals scored in Hoosier history.
• Previously, the team had not had players score consecutive goals less than 30 seconds apart since 1984.
Freshman Phenoms
• Two freshmen have earned starting spots for the Hoosiers in 2006. Darren Yeagle and Kevin Alston have started in all six games for Indiana.
• Yeagle scored his first career goal against No. 2 Connecticut. He currently leads the team with seven points (3 goals, 1 assist). Alston is a key member of the defense.
• Other freshmen who have seen playing time are Eric Alexander, Lee Hagedorn and Ofori Sarkodie.
Recapping the Tulsa Game
• Freshman Darren Yeagle scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute to give No. 10 Indiana a 2-1 win on Sept. 9.
• Tulsa got on the board first with a score in the 65th minute from Eric Burkholder.
• The deficit lit a fire under the Hoosiers, as they controlled the ball in their offensive third for most of the remainder of the game.
• Sophomore Brian Ackley would score the equalizer for Indiana in the 85th minute off a pass from Kevin Robson.
Recapping the SMU Game
• Despite a hard-fought battle, No. 3 SMU defeated Indiana 1-0 in the SMU Mi Cocina Classic on Sept. 8.
• Neither team appeared to gain a clear advantage in the game, with the two teams recording 12 shots each. Indiana held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
• SMU broke through in the 76th minute, as Dario Saintus scored off an assist from Scott Geppert.
Hoosiers Take On Ranked Teams
• The Hoosiers regularly play one of the toughest schedules in the nation. In its first six games this season, Indiana has played four ranked opponents, plus a ranked opponent in the preseason.
• Indiana has taken on No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. The Hoosiers defeated No. 1 Maryland 1-0 in exhibition action, tied No. 2 Connecticut 1-1, and fell to No. 3 Southern Methodist 1-0.
• UIC was not ranked in the preseason, but the team has moved into the top-25 with its play to start the year. Indiana defeated UIC 1-0 in exhibition play.
Hoosiers Lead Nation in Attendance
• The Hoosiers are one of college soccer's most watched teams year in and year out. This season, Indiana is averaging 5,040 fans per contest after two home games.
• Last year, Indiana finished second in the nation in average attendance, pulling in 3,112 fans per game.
• During the 2003 campaign, IU led the nation in total attendance with a total of 28,778 attending Armstrong Stadium for 13 home affairs. Indiana averaged 2,214 for home matches, which ranked third nationally. In 2004, the Hoosiers averaged 2,385, leading the nation.
• The Hoosiers have a history of drawing large crowds. Indiana ranked among the top three in average attendance in 2001 and 2002. Also in 2001, the Hoosiers ranked third in total attendance with 25,630 visiting Armstrong Stadium. In 2001, the Hoosiers averaged 2,330 over their 11 games. The following season, the Hoosiers averaged 2,195, which was second nationally.
