Players welcome new IU assistant

The IU men's soccer team announced the hiring of a new volunteer assistance coach Tuesday on the heels of the team hosting the Midwest Soccer Coaches Symposium this weekend. As the featured event to the symposium, IU plays St. Louis University in the team's third spring friendly at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nDavid Giffard joins IU after working for five years under former IU player and assistant coach Mike Getman at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Giffard replaces Sean Phillips who accepted the assistant coaching position with the men's soccer team at the University of Illinois-Chicago.\nGiffard's main duties include the daily training of the team's goalkeepers in addition to his administrative jobs of coordinating home game operations and assisting with academics, recruiting, media relations and compliance.\nIU sophomore goalkeeper Nate Scherpenisse said the hiring of Giffard is the best thing that could happen with a new assistant coach.\n"I get to work with someone who sees me everyday and helps me with my deficiencies," Scherpenisse said. "He is pretty knowledgeable about the game and he always has something to say and is a real positive guy, which makes it real easy to work with. Sean Phillips was great, but he is just as good and brings a new twist, which is always welcomed."\nIU won both of its friendly matches last weekend. The Hoosiers hosted perennial National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics power Lindsey-Wilson and defeated the Blue Raiders at Memorial Stadium 2-0. IU then defeated Bradley University Sunday afternoon 3-0 on Yeagley Field.\nFreshman Kevin Noschang -- who redshirted in the fall -- scored three goals in the weekend series, with two goals coming against Bradley. Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Munroe started in net for IU against Lindsey-Wilson and Scherpenisse got the start against Bradley.\n"I think the coaches have instilled in my mind that I have the ability to score on any team we play," Noschang said. "I had the pleasure of playing against Drew (Moor), Jed (Zayner) and (Julian Dieterle) -- the three best backs in the country -- every day in practice during the fall. I just go in with the mindset no one can stop me from scoring goals."\nBilliken's head coach Brian Donigan is also one of the coaches taking part in this weekend's coaching symposium. In addition to the IU coaching staff participating in the symposium, Sigi Schmid -- the current head coach of the U.S. under-20 national team and former UCLA and L.A. Galaxy coach -- will give teaching sessions as well.\nIU coach Mike Freitag said the symposium usually draws 150 to 200 coaches -- many of them high school coaches -- from around the country and is often times a great recruiting ploy because coaches that attend the symposium might inform the IU coaching staff of a player the program may want to look at for recruiting purposes.\n"It's nice because St. Louis is coming over and St. Louis is your traditional powerhouse," Freitag said. "They have a good team year in and year out and hopefully we'll play like we have. I'm happy the way we are playing and also getting some questions answered about who can play where and who can play."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Steve \nSlivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.