IU men's soccer team gets ‘motivation’ for Freitag, make strides

Dropping out of the national rankings and falling further back in the Big Ten, IU men’s soccer coach Mike Freitag decided to change up his typical practice regimen this week.

His players responded.

“I found out that these guys need external motivation,” Freitag said. “If you lose, you have to run. ... I didn’t have those punishments before. We had a long discussion as a team on how to get things right. You get it out in the air, talk about it, and go back to work, and that is what we did.”

The Hoosiers face No. 9 Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. today at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Senior midfielder John Mellencamp said the added passion in practice is necessary for his team’s crucial matchup against the Fighting Irish.

“It was one of the most intense trainings I have seen this season,” he said. “There was a lot more competition today and guys were taking things personally on the field. No one wanted to lose a single thing they did today, and that is the mind-set that gets you ready to play a game.”

With a 2-0 loss Sunday to Michigan State, IU (6-4-2) slipped to 1-2 in the Big Ten, good enough for fifth place out of seven in the conference standings.

On Monday, the players and coaches discussed the direction of the team.

“We sat down, put everything out there and talked about where we were at in the season,” junior defender/midfielder Kevin Alston said. “At this point, it makes it almost crucial to win every (Big Ten) game. The biggest thing for us is staying positive.”

This confidence must be seen from the Hoosiers tonight when they take on a talented Notre Dame squad. The Fighting Irish are 8-3-1 on the season and have won their past two games by a combined 7-1 margin.

Notre Dame senior forward Bright Dike leads the team’s offensive attack with nine goals and three assists on the season.

Defensively, the Fighting Irish return two All-Big East defenders in seniors Matt Besler and Jack Traynor.

Though he said it would be a tough game, Freitag said Notre Dame is in a circumstance similar to that of the Hoosiers, referring to their three losses on the season.

“They are finding themselves and also have been inconsistent on the year,” he said. “The team that is more consistent on the night will probably win the game.”

Mellencamp said earning a victory against the high-ranking Fighting Irish would be monumental for long-term success.

“I see a very focused, intense game,” Mellencamp said. “Everybody on this team has thought about what we need to do to reach the potential we are capable of. If we can come out and carry the intensity that we had today in training, I think things will turn around for us.”