Soccer team plays host to Mexico tonight

The Mexico Under-17 Men's National Team that beat IU 2-1 in April 2005 went on to win the FIFA World Youth Championships in September. Mexico beat Brazil in the championship game 3-0.\nBut just as Mexico will have a new generation of U-17 players when the team plays IU tonight in Bloomington, the Hoosiers sport new faces this spring after losing six starters from last season's squad.\n"It's like one of the Notre Dame players said the other day when we played them," IU coach Mike Freitag said. "This is a new generation out here; I don't know anyone."\nIU enters this evening's 7:30 p.m. contest with a 2-0-3 record this spring -- recording wins against Cincinnati and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis -- while tying the Cincinnati Kings, Lindsey Wilson College and Notre Dame.\nNCAA rules allow college soccer programs to play five exhibition matches in the spring, along with allowing teams to play a doubleheader in one day which counts as one contest. However, if a team plays an international squad -- such as the Mexico U-17 Men's National Team -- the match is exempt from the five-game allotment.\nMany of the players on Mexico's team that fans will see tonight on Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium are professionals.\n"They are training at the highest level, basically incorporating so many different techniques and tactical abilities into their game," said Ofori Sarkodie, IU freshman and former U.S. U-17 Men's National Team member. "So at a young age, they're quite developed, they're quite professional and they're quite mature. They're bringing in a special type of talent to the game, and it's not going to be an ordinary college team."\nFans can thank Notre Dame skipper Bobby Clark for allowing IU to play Mexico's U-17 team for a second straight spring, along with the possibility of future matches during the spring. Freitag said the Mexico U-17 Women's National Team plays the Notre Dame women's team every spring, and Mexico U-17s wanted to bring the men's team to South Bend as well but desired two matches. Freitag said Clark approached him to see if the Hoosiers would like to be the second team the U-17s from Mexico play while in the States.\n"It's something that's worked out and something we'd love to continue," Freitag said. "We always know it's going to be a quality game."\nPrior to last spring, the last time Bill Armstrong Stadium hosted an international soccer match was in May 1992 when the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team hosted the Canadian U-20 Men's National Team in an Olympic qualifying match.\nAs was the case last April, Indiana Youth Soccer is assisting IU soccer in promoting the international match throughout the state.\nIU junior John Michael Hayden scored the lone goal in last year's contest, as he netted the equalizer in the 37th minute from 30 yards out.\nThe Hoosiers' match with Mexico U-17s last April drew 3,472 fans. Last Thursday, Freitag said in conversations he had with the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis, the consulate told him he thinks the game can draw double what it drew last April.\nFreitag said he thinks this attendance prediction is realistic if the weather tonight is as warm as it has been the last few nights -- sans the severe storms.\nGeneral admission for the game is $5, and children younger than 2 are admitted to the game free.\nKevin Alston, IU freshman and former United States U-17 Men's National Team member, said he hopes IU students will dig into their pockets to pay the admission since IU usually admits students free of charge.\n"We are in the U.S., we're playing Mexico, and Mexico is expecting a lot of fans," Alston said. "This is a home game, so we need all the support we can get, especially the home fans, because that's where a lot of the energy comes from. Five dollars, if they can spare it -- it would help"