Assistant Coach
2001 Men's Soccer Season Outlook
The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer program enters the 2001 season hoping to make a bigger splash in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, a chance it has not had since 1995.The
Screaming Eagles finished 2000 with their first appearance in the league’s
post-season tournament since 1995, narrowly missing the final four. USI,
which finished at the .500 mark in the conference for the first time in four
seasons, was defeated in the first round of the conference tournament in
penalty kicks after double-overtime at Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville.
USI
Head Coach Dan Hogan enters his second season at USI hoping to
continue the rise that began in 2000. The
Eagles posted their best overall record in four seasons, 7-9-2, along with a
GLVC Tournament appearance and nearly doubled the amount of goals scored in
the previous year. USI also lowered its team goals against average from 1.97
the previous year to 1.63 last fall.
Hogan
will begin the 2001 campaign by mixing 13 returning players with 10
newcomers to find the right combination.
FORWARDS:
Second
team All-Region and All-GLVC performer Ed Pieper (St. Louis,
Missouri), a senior forward, will lead the squad into 2001.
Pieper,
who was available for only 12 of the team’s 18 games in 2000, led the
squad with 16 points, scoring seven goals and dishing out two assists. Three
of Pieper’s goals were game-winners, the most on the team.
Pieper
is joined up front by senior forward Tom Peroutka (St. Louis,
Missouri). Tom Peroutka played in all 18 matches as a junior, putting three
goals into the back of the net.
USI
also returns additional experience and speed
at the forward position with junior Aaron Joppek (Portage,
Indiana) and sophomore Matt Settles (Evansville, Indiana). Settles
came into his own late last season, starting the last five matches and
finishing the fall second on the team in scoring with 10 points on four
goals and two assists.
Joppek
was a tough player off the bench, scoring two goals, including the game
winner against Marian College.
Hogan
has added some new firepower for 2001 with freshman forward Matt
Manning (Franklin,
Tennessee) and sophomore forward Scott
Henderson
(Evansville, Indiana). Manning will begin his collegiate career at USI after
posting a team-high 15 goals for Centennial High School in Franklin,
Tennessee, last fall.
MIDFIELDERS:
The
Eagles begin 2001 on solid footing in the midfield.
Returning
from last year’s squad are juniors Ryan Williams (Greenfield,
Indiana), Nick Ingalls (Greenfield, Indiana), and John Havill (Washington,
Indiana). The three juniors
combined for 12 points (five goals and two assists) a year ago, and could
add additional spark to the USI offense.
Adding
depth to the team, the Eagles return Bryce Cooper (Greenwood,
Indiana), who redshirted in 2000. During his first season with the Eagles in
1999, Cooper had three points on a goal and an assist.
Newcomer
Duncan Bray,
a junior transfer from Scotland, will join Settles, adding experience to the
middle. Bray,
transferring from Robert Gordon University in Scotland, had 44 goals in 37
matches for Ellon United Club and Peterhead Football Club while being named
Player of the Year for both squads.
New
to the USI roster in the midfield will be junior Shawn
Sloan
(St. Peters, Missouri), sophomore Steve
Hendrickson
(Granite City, Illinois), and freshman Tim
Pieper (St.
Louis, Missouri).
Hendrickson
played the last two seasons for Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville,
Illinois, while Sloan was a two-year member of the State Fair Community
College soccer team in Sedalia, Missouri, which won the 1999 NJCAA National
Championship.
Tim
Pieper, Ed’s younger brother, was a two-time All-Conference performer and
three-year varsity starter at Mehlville High School in St. Louis.
DEFENSE:
The
USI defense could be a source of concern as the team enters 2001 with the
graduation of starting backs Ryan Tucker and Justin Wilson and the departure
of starting goalkeeper Robbie Haigh. Haigh shared the 2000 GLVC Freshman of
the Year award with Juan Paoella of Lewis University.
USI
will have a strong base of experience to build upon with the return of
junior Brian Peroutka (St. Louis, Missouri) and sophomore Jared
Anslinger (Evansville, Indiana).
Brian
Peroutka gives the Eagles athleticism and toughness in the back with the
ability to score. He posted three points a year ago on a goal and one
assist.
Anslinger, who started and played in 17 matches as a freshman and like many of the Eagles, saw action in many positions. He was third on the team in scoring with eight points on three goals and two assists.
Returning
to join Anslinger and Peroutka in the back are junior Kevin Ray
(Ballwin, Indiana) and senior Andreas Schroeder (New Albany,
Indiana). Ray posted 12 starts with a goal in his second season.
New
to the USI roster are freshmen
Zach Collins (St.
Louis, Missouri) and Josh
Burton (Franklin,
Tennessee). Collins, who was a teammate of Tim Pieper’s at Mehlville High
School, was first team All-Conference in 2000 and helped MHS set a team
record for least goals against average. Burton, a teammate of Manning’s at
Centennial High School, helped lead
CHS to the 2000 district championship and the regional finals as a junior.
Between
the posts, the Eagles are not without an experienced goalkeeper. Junior Chris
Davis (Evansville, Indiana) returns after missing much of 2000 with an
injury. Davis played in two contests before being injured, posting a 2.67
GAA.
Backing up Davis is newcomers, sophomore Josh Hill (Maple Park, Illinois). Hill is a transfer from the University of Cincinnati where he did not play varsity soccer.
