Champions on display

The accolades continue to roll in for the IU men's soccer team, as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranked the Hoosiers No. 1 in its annual preseason top 25 poll.\nEarlier in the summer, College Soccer News named IU No. 1 in its preseason poll, as well.\n"It's always nice to be recognized," coach Mike Freitag said after practice Thursday, which took place in the Mellancamp Pavillon because of a rain-soaked Karst Farm Park. "These guys got a lot of credit for what they did last year, and they're still getting credit. But as we all know, we haven't really played a regular season game yet, so we got to do it when we get on the field."\nThe Hoosiers stepped onto the pitch in Fort Wayne this past weekend for the first time this season in the IU-Purdue Fort Wayne Showcase and came away with two wins. In the first match Friday night, IU defeated St. John's in a rematch of last season's National Championship game when junior forward Mike Ambersley, who redshirted last season, made an instant impact, netting the lone goal in the 30th minute.\nFreitag made his debut with the official title of "head coach" Friday night and said he had jitters, even though he has sat on the sidelines as an assistant coach and as a player for IU.\n"There is always that opportunity that you can lose, so you have to have jitters," Freitag said. "To say that they're more than any other time, maybe a few, but not to the point where I can't function. I feel very confident with our team, and that makes it a lot easier."\nThe Hoosiers returned to the field Saturday and defeated host IPFW 2-1. Sophomore midfielder Josh Tudela opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a header in front of the net. Fifth-year senior midfielder Josh Reiher returned to the Hoosiers after sitting out last season and, like Ambersely, scored in his return, striking in the 85th minute in similar fashion to Ambersley's goal as he touched the back of the net on a header.\n"For Josh (Reiher), it had to had been a big boost, and especially for our team just knowing now that we have another scoring option coming in," junior midfielder and forward Brian Plotkin said. "He's a big body, so he'll be great on restarts. He's a smart player, and he's got a tireless work ethic."\nNaming the Hoosiers as No. 1 in its preseason poll was not the only acknowledgement College Soccer News bestowed upon the Hoosiers, as the publication also named senior midfielder Danny O'Rourke and Plotkin to the publication's Preseason All-America team. O'Rourke was only one of four midfielders selected as a first team All-American.\nO'Rourke has received previous recognition for his play on the pitch, as the Big Ten named him to its first team the previous two seasons.\n"Preseason All-American only means so much," O'Rourke said. "It's my senior year; I've had a great three years already and a national championship last year. As long as I can help this team reach the goal to the Final Four, Big Ten championship and maybe even another national championship, that's probably more important. Individual honors are nice, but if we all play as a team and we do well, those honors will kind of fall into place for whoever deserves them."\nThe Hoosiers continue with their two-a-day practices through Sunday, when the team heads back to Karst Farms Park for morning and afternoon practices. Karst Farms Park is located southwest of Bloomington off of S.R. 45 on the corner of Airport and Endwright roads. The practices are open to the public.\n-- Contact staff writer Steve Slivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.