The Indiana University men’s soccer team announced its recruiting class for the 2008 season, a group that will likely help IU to maintain its tradition of excellence. The team signed seven recruits for next year, three of whom were considered top 25 recruits. Mike Freitag, IU’s coach since the legendary Jerry Yeagley retired in 2003, has been a great recruiter since taking over the job, bringing in the No. 2 class in the nation and following it up with this year’s highly acclaimed class.
Will Bruin, in white, was one of the recruits signed by the Hoosiers this year.
The class illustrates the fact that Freitag has a strong connection to his
hometown—St. Louis. Four of this year’s seven recruits are from St. Louis, and three played on the same high school team. They are:
- Nick Blevins MF Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll
- Will Bruin F St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet
- Chris Haffner D St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University
- Tommy Meyer D St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University
- Luis Soffner GK St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University
- Joe Tolen MF Evansville, Ind./Evansville Central
- Tim Wylie F Ft. Wayne, Ind./Ft. Wayne Carroll
Freitag told IUHoosiers.com that he was looking for players who possess “winning fabric,” and it appears he has put together a group for recruits who have that. Here is a of bit of background information on each of the recruits, provided by IUHoosiers.com, the IU Athletics website:
Blevins brings an impressive list of credentials to Bloomington. The 2007 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Adidas Boys High School Scholar Athlete of the Year and Gatorade Ohio Boys Soccer Player of the Year, Blevins was also named an NSCAA Boys High School All-American after leading Bloom Carroll in goals scored (35) and assists. He set an Ohio state record for assists in a season (39-sophomore) and career (116) and is one of just two players in Ohio high school history to join the 100/100 club with 100 career goals and 100 career assists.
Bruin joins a long line of former DeSmet Jesuit players to wear the Cream and Crimson, following in the footsteps of IU greats Chris Klein, Harry Weiss, Pat Noonan and Mike Ambersley. The forward broke the DeSmet Jesuit career goals scored record with 102, topping the old mark held by Noonan. Leading the Metro Catholic Conference in scoring as a freshman, junior and senior, Bruin is a two-time NSCAA All-American, the 2007 Missouri State Soccer Player of the Year and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Soccer Player of the Year.
Haffner led SLUH to the state finals in 2007 and a top-10 national ranking in 2006. Making the switch from forward to central defender his senior season, Haffner anchored a defense that allowed just 10 goals in 33 matches played. As a sophomore and junior he tallied 38 goals and was a Metro Catholic Conference Top-5 Scorer in 2005-06. For his efforts he was named first-team all-conference and all-state in 2007 and was selected by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to its All-Metro first team.
Meyer is a two-time NSCAA/Adidas All-American and was named to the all-state and all-metro first teams in 2007. He was also an all-state honoree and Parade All-American in 2006. As a sophomore, Meyer left SLUH to join the U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. for one season before deciding to return to Missouri. Meyer was a member of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup team which advanced to the round of 16. Meyer appeared in three matches for the U-17's in South Korea.
Soffner spent his final two seasons with the Junior Billikens after playing his freshman and sophomore years at St. Ignatius in Cleveland, Ohio. As a sophomore, the goalkeeper helped lead the Wildcats to the 2005 Ohio state championship, as well as the NSCAA high school national title. As a senior at SLUH, Soffner posted 18 shutouts in 23 matches with a 0.32 goals-against average as the Junior Billikens were the 2007 Missouri state runner up. For his efforts he was named to the St. Louis All-Metro first team and all-state team. He has also been a standout in the classroom, earning first honors all four years of high school with a 3.9 GPA.
Tolen tallied 79 goals and 53 assists from the midfield in his four-year career at Evansville Central. A first-team all-state and all-region selection, Tolen was named to Indiana's Super 16 in 2007 and led his team to the regional final for the best finish in school history. He is Central's all-time single-season leader in scoring, assists and varsity starts. Tolen was also a standout on the football field, earning all-state accolades in 2007.
Wylie was a four-year starter at Fort Wayne Carroll High School where he was a first-team all-state and unanimous all-conference selection. Also earning all-conference mention as a sophomore and junior, Wylie helped lead the Chargers to a 54-19-4 record, two sectional and one conference title in four seasons. Over his career he tallied 34 goals (eighth in school history) and 95 points (seventh in school history). His 75 games played ranks 10th in school history.
For more on Indiana University soccer, check out our IU soccer website,
IUfutbol.com.
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