Hoosiers look to stay unbeaten

After starting the season with the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic championship, the IU men's soccer team will look to continue its winning ways in the Notre Dame Classic.\nThe Hoosiers are scheduled to square off against Cal State Fullerton today and the University of Evansville Sunday.\n"We want to win the tournament," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "We want to win both games, and we want to get better. The getting better part is most important for us because I don't think we are firing on all cylinders yet."\nCal State Fullerton enters the Notre Dame Classic winless, with two losses, but was described as a "dangerous team" by Freitag. Historically the Hoosiers have a losing record against the Titans, losing their last game against the them in 2002.\n"They have some players that maybe don't go to UCLA for whatever reason," Freitag said. "They're another opponent that's good enough to beat you."\nEvansville enters the tournament at 1-1 after beating Wisconsin last weekend. The Hoosiers played Evansville earlier in the year in an exhibition match, one in which Evansville outplayed IU for much of the game, Freitag said.\nA major transition for the Hoosiers this season has been the switch over to a more zone-oriented defense as opposed to a simple man-to-man. The new defensive style allows IU's backs to work their way into the attack a little more, as evident by the goal scored by sophomore back Julian Dieterle over the weekend. But the shift also requires a lot more communication and presents the potential for mental lapses, which could lead to goals.\n"Obviously letting in three goals isn't something we want to do," junior back Drew Moor said. "But that happens, and we just have to get the kinks out. Communication is a big deal there."\nDespite the defense letting in three goals, the offense was able to pick up some of the slack by downing six of their own, two of which came from sophomore forward Jacob Peterson. His two goals -- one of which was a game winner in overtime -- landed him on the College Soccer News' National Team of the Week. But oddly enough, after scoring six goals in two games, one of the main focuses in this week's practice has been finishing.\n"We created a good number of chances in both games and didn't put them away like we should," Freitag said. \nThe Hoosiers took a total of 41 shots in their two games, were able to get 17 of them on frame and still only hit pay dirt on six. \nAnother emphasis of this week's practice has been defending set pieces after allowing goals on a free-kick and corner kick last weekend. But all tactics aside, the real key to the season may lie in the intangibles.\n"We need to stay honest as a team," sophomore midfielder John Michael Hayden said. "One thing we had last year was that we were all honest as a team. We fought for each other."\nRegardless of the area, Freitag will keep tinkering and encouraging his team until they can reach his ultimate goal -- perfection.\n"Most schools would be happy going 2-0 and scoring six goals," he said. "But I'm always looking to play that perfect game, and we'll keep holding them to that standard until they do it. Then I'll be really happy." \n-- Contact staff writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.