Indiana University Athletics
No. 7 Indiana Drops 2-1 Decision to Drake
8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2009
Box Score | Pregame Photo Gallery
FT. WAYNE, Ind. - Sophomore Will Bruin put home an early goal for the Hoosiers, but it was not enough as the Drake Bulldogs came back with a two goal second-half performance in a 2-1 win over Indiana in an exhibition match at the National Soccer Festival in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Drake's Julien Edwards was the victor in a scramble in front of the goalmouth, coming up with the game-winning shot in the 88th minute. The Bulldogs tied the match in the 58th minute when Evan Harrison was left all alone on the left side and put home a shot into the lower right corner.
"In a lot of ways, this loss was good for us," said head coach Mike Freitag. "When you play a good opponent, and Drake is a very good team, you find out answers to questions about your team. Tonight we found things that we can do better, as well as things that we do well.
"A win at this point doesn't really matter much. It is important to find out what we are made of and get better."
Bruin gave Indiana a 1-0 lead at 27:55 with a beautiful 1-on-1 shot. Bruin took the ball at midfield and ran up the middle before crossing over to his right. He took his shot about 10 yards from goal, sending the ball across his body and into the lower left corner.
It was Bruin with the first shot of the game, with a header down into the arms of Drake goalkeeper Michael Drozd. Eric Alexander set up the play with a run down the left side before serving the ball into Bruin in front of the net. Sophomore Tommy Meyer put up another header, this one wide left, off a corner kick from Andy Adlard in the 16th minute.
The Hoosiers controlled possession for the first 15 minutes of the match before Drake began pressing up top. The Bulldogs' best chance in the first half came with just over five minutes to play when Charles Schwartz sent in a shot that bounced off the right post and right back to IU goalkeeper Luis Soffner.
Freshman Kevin Bick made his IU debut, coming in at forward for Alec Purdie in the 28th minute. Also making his Hoosier debut at the same time was freshman Caleb Konstanski who took over for Lee Hagedorn at left mid. Freshman Matt Wiet came on in the later stages of the match.
In all a total of 22 Hoosiers saw the field as Freitag experimented with different lineups. Meyer was the only player to go the full 90 minutes and was the only starter in the match when the game-winning goal was scored.
"I am really looking forward to working with this team." Freitag said. "I think this team can be one of the best at Indiana. It was nice to get so many guys on the field and I am encouraged by the play of our second group."
Drake finished with a 13-12 advantage in shots, but both teams put up an identical five shots on-goal. Bruin and Hagedorn led the Hoosiers with two shot attempts each, with both of Bruin's looks on frame.
Soffner got the starting nod in goal for the Hoosiers, playing just over 63 minutes. Sophomore Nate Mitchell came on for the final 26:51
The Hoosiers wrap up their preseason slate on Saturday as they face the DePaul Blue Demons at 8 p.m. ET at the National Soccer Festival.
Players Mentioned
