IU's Indianapolis connection

They've played soccer together on the same team since sixth grade and have already made history in the first match of the 2005 IU men's soccer season.\nFriday, the sophomore trio of goalkeeper Chris Munroe, and defenders Greg Stevning and Charley Traylor became the first group of teammates from the same high school graduating class to start and play in a match for the IU men's soccer team.\nStevning and Traylor went to middle school together and still live together off-campus, with Munroe living just down the street.\nWhen the trio were seniors at North Central High School in Indianapolis, they won the 2002 Indiana High School State Soccer Championship. As the group stepped onto the field against Wake Forest University, their three-year journey from the high school's varsity squad to the Indiana Olympic Development Program and through the Dynamo Futbol Club team finally culminated.\n"Its 'salways been nice having someone you're that close with on all your different teams whether it was ODP, club, high school and now IU," Traylor said. "You have a comfort level going into each team by having someone you know. There are strengths and weaknesses, and you can play to those."\nStevning and Traylor got their first taste of Hoosier soccer last season because former IU coach Jerry Yeagley redshirted all three players in 2003. Traylor started 10 games last season while appearing in 19, and Stevning started four times at defense and once in the midfield as he appeared in 10 matches.\nThe first time Stevning and Traylor started a game together was Oct. 1, 2004, when the Hoosiers traveled to University Park, Pa., to play Penn State. Stevning filled in for junior Julian Dieterle -- who was nursing a nagging knee injury -- at defense and Traylor played in the midfield.\n"I just got the opportunity and showed the coaches that I could play," Stevning said. "Now here I am."\nFor his efforts this past weekend, the Big Ten named Stevning the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.\nTraylor came off the bench in the national semifinal match versus the University of Maryland last season to assist on the game-winning goal as he chipped the ball between two defenders to former Hoosier Danny O'Rourke, who crossed the ball to junior John Michael Hayden for the goal. Stevning scored his only career goal in the last match of the regular season versus IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.\nMunroe had to sit on the bench last season as former Hoosier goalkeeper Jay Nolly played every minute of every match for IU dating back to October 2002.\nDuring this year's two exhibition matches, Munroe split time between the pipes with freshman Chay Cain, who was named as the No. 1 goalkeeping recruit for 2005 by StudentSportsSoccer.com. Munroe played the full 180 minutes last weekend in IU's two victories over Wake Forest and Southern Methodist University as he recorded two saves -- both versus SMU -- and two shutouts.\n"I knew going into my career here that Jay was the guy, I would have to sit and hang out on the bench for awhile," Munroe said. "Once my time came, I just have to try to play well and prove to the coaches that I belong out there."\nHead coach Mike Freitag said he never thought about the possibility of having three \nplayers from the same high school class play together on the field at IU. He said it's nice that soccer in the state of Indiana has grown to the point where that can occur for the two-time defending national champions.\n"We've had a good number over the years (from the state of Indiana) that have contributed," Freitag said. "Those three gentlemen from North Central were part of a special class in high school, and they were well-coached by Jerry Little up there and we knew they were of the stock we wanted. Once they got here, they kept getting better and better"