Fitting the Bill

It looks like there could be another successful member of the Mellencamp family in Bloomington.\nBut this one has taken up shop on the pitch at Armstrong Stadium for the IU men's soccer team.\nThe Hoosiers defeated the reigning FIFA under-17 World Champions from Mexico 2-0 in front of 5,739 at Bill Armstrong Stadium Tuesday night. It was a rematch from last spring when the cream and crimson lost to Mexico 2-1.\nFreshman John Mellencamp -- the nephew of the American rocker -- scored the first goal for IU in the 14th minute of the match from 18 yards out. The ball was in a pack of players on the right corner of the box and freshman Brad Ring knocked the ball out across the top of the box to Mellencamp, who was able to net the shot.\n"I think as a team we are going to find ways to score," Mellencamp said. "Tonight showed that we can come out and put it together -- even against a good team."\nJunior Kevin Robson has come off the bench for much of his IU career as a key contributor. With former Hoosier forwards Lee Nguyen and Jacob Peterson leaving college early for the professional ranks -- and redshirt freshman Kevin Noschang sidelined with a knee injury -- IU coach Mike Freitag looked to Robson to make a mark on the front line.\nRobson did just that as he scored his second goal this spring in the 52nd minute.\nJunior John Michael Hayden took the corner and sophomore Greg Stevning cleared some players out in the box as Robson was able to gather the ball and get the shot off.\n"Every time you get to wear the uniform and start for this team, its an honor," Robson said. "I'm just trying to take advantage of my opportunity here in the spring to make things happen for us. Things are happening for me and the way the team is playing, I'm feeling real confident about next year and am excited, real excited."\nIU controlled the possession most of the game and wore down the Mexican squad in the second half. The Hoosiers got off 18 shots in the match, including 11 in the second half.\nMexico made just five shot attempts the entire match and its best chance to score came in the 78th minute. Jose Verduzco took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box with Hayden standing on the goal line to freshman Chay Cain's left. Hayden stopped Verduzco's shot with his feet before Cain was able to dive on the ball.\nWith the win, IU's spring record moved to 3-0-3. The team's next contest is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday versus Butler at North Central High School in Indianapolis. \nFreitag was an assistant coach for the United States U-17 Men's National team from 1991 to 1993. He said he knows from his first-hand experience with the U.S. team how the team from Mexico is young, but that they will be better next year.\n"I hope, I hope (we play them next year)," Freitag said. "It's a great game for us. It's an extra game for us. You look at the crowd -- close to 6,000 -- it's an atmosphere you don't see at your everyday soccer game and I love it"