2 Hoosiers play for national team

The U.S. Under-20 soccer team was made up of many of the top college stars in the country, including two Hoosiers, junior Jacob Peterson and freshman Lee Nguyen. \nAlthough many think of 16-year-old D.C. United star and U-20 team member Freddy Adu as the young hot shot in soccer, there is another youngster who IU men's soccer coach Mike Freitag hopes is as good -- Nguyen.\nThe 5-foot-8-inch forward from Richardson, Texas is \ncoming to IU after spending two weeks in June playing on the U-20 soccer team.\nFreitag said Nguyen could be a true gem with an immediate impact on the team and in the stands. \n"He is one of the few players I would actually pay to see," Freitag said. "I think he will excite fans and make an immediate impact." \nEven as one of the younger players on the team, he still got the opportunity to start for the U.S., in a 1-0 win against Egypt. \nDespite limited playing time in the tournament, Nguyen saw any playing time as a privilege. \n"It was just an honor," said Nguyen, who was the 2004 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year. "I definitely enjoyed it."\nNguyen said playing on the team will ease his transition into college soccer. \n"It will definitely help a lot," he said. "I mean I got to play with all the best college soccer players in the country."\nWhile the team was in Holland to try and win the U-20 tournament, it wasn't all just games, Nguyen said.\n"(The best non-soccer) was definitely going out with the team after losing to Italy," he said. "Although we lost, we were very proud of ourselves and celebrated how well we did."\nIn addition to Nguyen representing the Hoosiers on the U-20 team was last season's starting forward, Peterson.\nAlthough Peterson didn't start until the game against Egypt, he made the most of his opportunity by scoring the game winning goal in the 56th minute. \n"Freddy (Adu) got the ball on the left wing and I think I was shooting," Peterson said in a press release. "It got deflected and luckily I was there to hit it in." \nNguyen said playing with Peterson and Adu on the U-20 team should pay dividends down the line. \n"It was good for (Peterson and I) and IU to play together and will help us in the long run, I think." he said. "It was great to play with a professional and see where (Adu) is at, at such a young age."\nThe U-20 team captured two wins, one loss and a tie during the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship tournament in Enschede, Holland. \nThe U.S. started the tournament by beating Argentina 1-0 and tied 0-0 with Germany. Following the tie with Germany the US beat Egypt 1-0. Despite earning the top seed from their group, the US fell to Italy 3-1 in the round of 16.\nEven though the team was eliminated from action earlier than the team expected, Nguyen said the early departure took nothing from the experience.\n"It is definitely something I will never forget." he said.