The first weekend of the 2002 soccer season has some marquee match-ups that usually don't take place until NCAA Tournament time.  Such match-ups are great for college soccer, great for the players, and great for the people who have the opportunity to see the games.  A few of the key match-ups during weekend number one of the 2002 season are identified below.

 

Rutgers vs. Indiana - (Friday, August 30 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana)

Rutgers travels to Indiana to participate in the IU Credit Union Classis Tournament.  Rutgers is ranked as the number 11 team in the country by College Soccer News while Indiana is ranked as the number 1 team in the country.  These two teams are not exactly strangers as they met in the 3rd round of the NCAA Tournament last year with Indiana advancing after defeating Rutgers 3-0.  In addition they squared off during regular season play at the end of October when Indiana traveled to Rutgers and defeated the Scarlet Knights 1-0.  Indiana returns 17 letterwinners and six starters from the 2001 team including All-American forward Pat Noonan.  For Indiana the game marks the return of Ryan Mack. The talented midfielder redshirted the 2001 season due to injury.  Rutgers returns eight starters including All-American center back Guy Abrahamson.  For Rutgers the game marks the return of defender David Boutilier who also missed the 2001 season due to injury.   The match also features two of the nations most successful College Coaches in Jerry Yeagley of Indiana and Bob Reasso of Rutgers.  Indiana plays team defense as well if not better than anyone in the country.  However, they will have some new faces in the back this year.  Relatively speaking the Hoosiers are more vulnerable as a team during the early part of the season.  The Hoosiers have the home field advantage but if Rutgers can penetrate the Indiana attack and play solid disciplined team defense themselves they could leave town with a big win.

 

Clemson vs. Indiana - (Saturday, August 31 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana)

Tigers take the field against the Hoosiers in the second day of play in the IU Credit Union Classic Tournament.  The Tigers are ranked by College Soccer News as the number 9 team in the country with Indiana University earning the number one spot.  These two teams faced each other last year in the Elite Eight Round of the NCAA Tournament with Indiana coming out on top 2-0 and advancing to the College Cup.  The Tigers return 7 starters and an explosive and quick front line that includes Dimelon Westfield (9g, 5a), Steven Rhyne (7g, 7a) and Fabio Tambosi (3g, 8a).  Senior All-American netminder Doug Warren anchors the Tiger defense.  Doug Warren is no stranger to the Indiana program as he transferred to Clemson after playing his freshman year at Indiana University.  This should be an excellent soccer match with both teams wanting to pick up a quality win early in the season.  The Tigers started slowly last year and the going could be pretty tough for them over the weekend if they are off their game.  The Tigers face a very good Butler team on Friday night before facing the Hoosiers.  On the other hand the Hoosiers may have to expend a lot of energy in their Friday night match against Rutgers and that could work to the advantage of Clemson when the two teams take the field Saturday night.  Both coaches, Jerry Yeagley of Indiana and Trevor Adair of Clemson, will learn a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of their teams from this match and will use that information to bring about improvement.

 

Connecticut vs. Seton Hall -  (Friday August 30 in South Orange New Jersey)

This one is significant because it is a Big East Conference match. Teams generally like to get a few games under their belt before heading into conference play.  With the exception of exhibition matches,that is not going to be the case for either of these teams this year.  Connecticut is ranked by College Soccer News as the number 7 team in the country and they are ranked by the NSCAA poll as the number 6 team in the country.  Seton Hall is not ranked by either poll.   Connecticut is the pre-season favorite to capture the Big East Title in 2002 and they have looked good in preseason play.   The Huskies are lead by forwards Damani Ralph and Cesar Cuellar who missed almost all of the 2001 season due to injury.  Midfielder

Anthony Curtis is a prime timer who should have a great year in 2002.  Connecticut will have a new face in the goal this year due to the graduation of two year starter Bryheem Hancock.  Highly touted Freshman Adam Schuerman may get the starting nod.  Look for the play in goal to be a key to the Huskies success in 2002.  Seton Hall was picked to finish 6th in the pre-season Big East Conference poll.  The Pirates are faced with finding a replacement for Greg Stohman who has graduated.  Stohman lead the Seton Hall attack last year.  Returning players include forward Phil Swenda (11g, 2a) and defensive midfielder Ryan McGowan (3g, 2a).  Seton Hall and Connecticut did not face each other last year.  Although the Huskies should prevail, this will likely not be an easy match for them.  Bottom line - both teams want to start conference play with a win not a loss.   

 

Kentucky vs. Virginia - (Friday August 30 at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia)

The Wildcats travel to Charlottesville to face the Cavaliers in the Virginia Soccer Classic.  College Soccer News ranks Kentucky as the number 27 team in the country and Virginia as the number 4 team in the country.  The Cavaliers from the Atlantic Coast Conference return 7 starters.  Kentucky from the Mid-American Conference return 7 starters.  Both teams are the pre-season favorites to win their respective conferences.  Kentucky is lead by senior forward John Monebrake and midfielder Nathan Fleetwood.  Virginia is lead up-top by junior Alecko Eskandarian and senior Ryan Gibbs.  Kenny Arena returns in the midfield while Jonathan Cole anchors the Cavalier defense.  David Comfort provides Virginia with a very capable and experienced netminder.  Both teams are very well coached.  Virginia is a very talented team but has shown a tendency to lose some of the key games. Kentucky does not have the overall talent that Virginia does but they have shown the propensity to win the big games.  This one should be very interesting.  The folks on hand at Klockner Stadium to see this one will get their moneys worth - no doubt about that. 

 

Notre Dame vs. Creighton - (Sunday, September 1 at Tranquility Park in Omaha, Nebraska)

The Irish under the direction of Bobby Clark come to Omaha to participate in the 6th annual Diadora Challenge.  Creighton will face Oakland (Michigan) on Saturday while the Irish square off with what could be a very competitive Southwest Missouri State team. College Soccer News ranks Creighton as the 26th team in the country while the NSCAA poll ranks them as the number 19 team in their pre-season poll.  College Soccer News ranks the Irish as the number 17 team in the country but they are unranked in the NSCAA pre-season poll.  This is an important early season match-up for both teams.  Although Creighton made it into the NCAA Tourney last year they were a bubble team and their 11-9-1 record was a sub par performance by their on standards.  A win over the Irish would be a confidence builder for Creighton and an indication that the transition to Coach Bob Warming's offensive system is on track.  For the Irish a win would be another step forward in Clark's efforts to make the Irish a legitimate contender on the national level.  NCAA Tourney time is a long way away but solid wins over nationally ranked opponents always strengthen a team's position. Forward Mike Tranchilla and David Wagenfuhr lead the Creighton attack.  Joe Wieland anchors the backline.  This game marks the return of Creighton goalkeeper Mike Gabb who was injured and took a medical redshirt last year.  The Irish return nine starters including 6 of their top scorers from last year. Erich Braun is an explosive finisher.  Forward Devon Prescod also has a good nose for the goal.  Justin Dettrer anchors a midfield that will need to be productive if the Irish are going to consistently win the really big games.  Chris Sawyer returns in goal along with senior Greg Tait.  The Irish have some rebuilding to do along the backline and that could be a weakness early on.   If it is look for Transhilla and company to exploit it.