Men's club soccer unbeaten at halfway point

Despite returning just four starters from last season's 7-3-2 regional semifinalist squad, the IU men's club soccer team is undefeated through its first seven matches.\nThe club takes a 5-0-2 record into the final five games of the regular season.\n"We've had good players before, but this team plays better as a unit than the ones I've been around here," said senior and club vice president Brandon Cook.\nThe team returned to IU late Sunday night from a three-match weekend in Chicago, where it topped Northwestern 2-1 and defeated Loyola University-Chicago 5-0.\nSenior midfielder Andrew Kirk scored the deciding goal against Northwestern, building on momentum established earlier by freshman forward Alex Boler's opening strike.\nLoyola saw IU senior and club secretary Drew Thomson notch his third and fourth goals from his outside midfield position, making the veteran the team's leading scorer.\nThe club also received a pending victory at DePaul University when the host forfeited after it was unable to secure a playable field for the match. Though the contest presently stands as a 1-0 IU win, the club is willing to play a rescheduled fixture if club soccer DePaul arranges a time and a venue suitable for both universities.\nThe trio of games was one-third of annual section play in the Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference's Western Division, a 10-member section within the 40-school alliance. The group is the nation's largest club soccer conference, according to its Web site.\nTravel costs and time constraints often force clubs to play multiple games in a single weekend, causing team leaders to maintain a deep roster and use a long bench, sometimes using about 20 of its 24 players in a game. More than 80 students tried out at the beginning of the semester for about 18 spots, creating a competitive environment from the onset, Cook said.\nIU completed two of three nondivision games during its opening weekend of competition, Sept. 16-17. A 1-1 tie at home against Michigan enabled both teams to remain undefeated, while a 3-1 victory over Michigan State gave IU its first victory of the season.\nA third match against a Central Division opponent was scheduled for Sept. 24 in West Lafayette, but host Purdue was forced to forfeit after referees did not show. The league requires home teams to provide an officiating crew within 30 minutes of the scheduled match time. IU gained a 1-0 result after waiting for referees, but the club was disappointed to not compete after traveling.\n"We wanted to play," veteran goalkeeper Cook said.\nTwo cases of opponents forfeiting is rare in a four-year career, let alone in a single season, Kirk said.\nThe club will use a bye week to train for its final home stand Oct. 14 and 15, including a clash with Iowa. The off-week should be particularly useful for the recovery efforts of two injured starters: freshman Travis Grasso and sophomore Phillip Nietert. \nKirk said depth and defense in the club's traditional 4-4-2 formation will continue to elevate the club in matches down the stretch.\nThe MASC will host its annual 12-team tournament Oct. 28 and 29 at Karst Farm Park in Bloomington. At least three teams will receive bids to represent the region at the 13th annual National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Soccer Sport Club Championships, held Nov. 16-18 in Tempe, Ariz. The Hoosier club hopes IU is one of the 24 teams that will converge at Ariz. State University that weekend.\n"The goal is to go undefeated," Thomson said. "The mood is really, really upbeat."\nThe veterans are now seeing the benefits of "buckling down with a serious attitude" after restructuring the program over the past couple years, Thomson said. Club leaders worked to re-establish a program that would achieve results as well as sustain future success.\nThe expectations of senior leaders are particularly high due to the general perception and tradition of soccer at IU.\n"There is a stigma associated with it. I think there's a feeling among different schools -- 'They're from Indiana. They better be good,'" Thomson said.