Indiana University Athletics
Men's Soccer Picked First in Big Ten Preseason Poll
8/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 17, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In a vote of conference head coaches, the Indiana men's soccer team was picked to win the Big Ten in a preseason poll released today by the conference office. It is the fifth-straight season the Hoosiers have nabbed the top spot.
The Hoosiers are coming off a 15-4-3 season where they captured both the regular season and tournament titles. They return 18 letterwinners from that team, including second-team All-Big Ten back Greg Stevning (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), leading scorer Brian Ackley (Cary, N.C./Athens Drive) and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Darren Yeagle (Louisville, Ky./Trinity).
Northwestern was picked second, followed by Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Michigan. The Hoosiers open Big Ten play on Sept. 29 against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. Indiana owns a conference-record 11 championships and has also earned NCAA Championship bids in each of the last 20 consecutive seasons, advancing to the third round last year.
The team is currently in the midst of its preseason training camp as two-a-days began on Wednesday. Friday morning the team was greeted with cooler temperatures as it ran through a two-hour workout at the IU Practice Field.
Head coach Mike Freitag and his staff continued to focus on smaller-sided games in the early practice. One drill had the team squaring off with five-yard endzones as the target. Teams could score by either stringing six passes together or by playing the ball into the five-yard area. The goal of the drill is to get the players focused on pressuring the ball and not allowing the opponent to penetrate or get behind.
"A couple of days in, the guys are starting to get their feet under them," Freitag said. "The new guys are getting much more comfortable with both their teammates and the system."
The team will practice once again Friday afternoon, followed by a pair of workouts on Saturday. Sunday will bring a little relief to tired legs with just a single afternoon practice. The Hoosiers are just a week away from their only exhibition game of the preseason, facing New Mexico on Aug. 25 at the National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Big Ten Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll 1. Indiana 2. Northwestern 3. Ohio State 4. Penn State 5. Wisconsin 6. Michigan State 7. Michigan
