Men's Soccer Week 9 Notes: vs. Upper Iowa

Weekly Schedule:
Friday, October 26 – vs. Upper Iowa – 3:00 pm – Kirksville, Mo.
Live Stats

PDF Notes
Twitter | @TrumanMSoccer

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The final match of the 2012 regular season is on tap for the Truman men's soccer team this week, with the Bulldogs set to host Upper Iowa in a 3:00 pm tilt on Friday afternoon at the Bulldog Soccer Pitch.

Having already clinched a berth in next week's MIAA tournament, Truman (9-5-1, 6-2-1 MIAA) will be trying to lock up at least the No. 3 seed in the four-team field, with the hopes of moving higher with a win and additional help in the league. Currently, the Bulldogs are tied with Fort Hays State for third but own the seeding tiebreak due to Truman's 2-1 win against the Tigers on Oct. 11. Both Truman and Fort Hays trail Northeastern State by one point for second, with conference-leading Lindenwood four points clear of the Bulldog/Tiger third place tie.

If Truman remains the No. 3 seed, which would require a win against Upper Iowa (3-11, 2-7 MIAA) on Friday, then the Bulldogs would be slated for a 4:00 pm match on Thursday, Nov. 1, in the MIAA semifinals against the No. 2 seed – likely to be the Northeastern State Riverhawks. If Truman was to drop to the 4^th-seed, they would play at 7:00 pm on Thursday, Nov. 1, against the top seed – most likely Lindenwood. The tournament will be held Nov. 1 & 3 at the Olathe District Activities Center in Olathe, Kansas.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 1-1 week of play, having dropped a 3-2 decision to then-No. 23 Lindenwood on Thursday, Oct. 18 before bouncing back with a 7-1 thrashing of Southwest Baptist on Senior Day Sunday, Oct. 20. After accumulating his second hat trick of the season, senior forward Andy Chapman leads the MIAA with 12 goals, while senior midfielder Charlie Backus is leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the MIAA with 14 assists. The next closest player in the eight-team league has just six.

Tony Luedecke's five goals ranks him third on the squad, followed by four from central defender Matt Langley. Truman has a +11 goal differential on the season and needs just three to reach the 40-goal mark for only the second time in the past seven seasons. Sophomore keeper Drew Garrone has seen the most minutes in net overall as well as of late, posting a 1.84 goals-against average and a 73% save mark with 1.5 shutouts.

Duke Cochran is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bulldog men's soccer program and has a career record of 80-50-12. His full bio is available either online at TrumanBulldogs.com or in the full PDF weekly notes.

Weekly Recap with Coach Cochran:
To watch this week's weekly recap with coach Duke Cochran, click the video link below. If the video is not appearing, please access the full weekly notes at TrumanBulldogs.com.

Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman men's soccer is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming match information and weekly updates.

When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog men's soccer schedule page as well as the top of each weekly update.

Keep up with the Bulldogs by tracking in-game updates (when available). Follow Truman Athletics on Twitter (@TrumanAthletics). Also be sure to sign up for Text Caster and Newsletter updates on the TrumanBulldogs.com homepage.

Regional Outlook:
With only one week remaining in the 2012 regular season, the NCAA unveiled its first official regional ranking last Wednesday, and Truman found itself listed second in the Central region. The top two teams from the Central will earn a postseason bid, with the Central region being comprised of the eight-team MIAA and independent program Ouachita Baptist (Ark.).

Northeastern State held the top spot in last Wednesday's poll and went 1-0-1 in last week's action. Truman was ranked ahead of Fort Hays State, with the Bulldogs going 1-1 and FHSU mimicking NSU's 1-0-1 mark – having tied the Riverhawks in Tahlequah. This week's regional rankings will be released tomorrow (Oct. 24), with one final set of rankings scheduled on Oct. 31 prior to Selection Monday on Nov. 5.

Lindenwood, still in provisional NCAA Div. II qualifying, is ineligible for NCAA postseason competition this season but can still compete in the MIAA postseason tournament due to no automatic berths to the NCAA tournament in men's soccer.

Backus-to-Chapman-to-the-Top:
The senior tandem of Charlie Backus and Andy Chapman have not only connected on eight goals this season, but their individual numbers have awarded them national recognition in the overall Division II men's soccer statistics.

Backus is the overall assist leader in both Divisions I and II, with his 14 steering him one clear of Daniel Smee at West Virginia Wesleyan in the Div. II race. The Division I assist leader has just 11, giving Backus the nation's lead amongst the NCAA's top two divisions.

Meanwhile, Chapman's 12 goals is good for a tie for 11^th in Division II, with him also one ahead of NSU's Juan Peralta for the top spot in the MIAA. Chapman has paired his dozen goals with five assists for an MIAA-best 29 points, which is five better than Peralta's second-place 24.

Gotta Score to Win:
The Bulldogs are 9-2-1 this season when scoring at least twice in a match but are just 0-3 when either being shutout or scoring only once. Truman's been held to zero or one goal only against currently regionally-ranked teams – Quincy, NSU, Rockhurst.

Checking Out the Competition:
Upper Iowa “Peacocks” (3-11, 2-7 MIAA)
Upper Iowa will play its season-finale on Friday afternoon in Kirksville, having missed the MIAA tournament with just six points in league play. The Peacocks earned four of their five wins at home this season, compiling just a 1-5 record away from Fayette.

UIU has a -16 goal differential this season, averaging just 0.99 goals per game while giving up 1.93. Teams have been able to exploit the Peacocks in the second half, out-scoring UIU 23-10 in the final 45 minutes of regulation. Rafael Pedroso and Jason Bishop have three goals each, while Alejandro Castaneda is responsible for five assists. Jordan Bell has played more than 1,500 minutes in net, posting a 1.97 GAA and a 76.6% save mark.

Earlier this season, Chapman and Backus connected twice as the Bulldogs opened MIAA play with a 2-1 win on Sept. 14. Chapman scored in the 43^rd and 59^th minutes, while the Bulldog defense held off a late comeback attempt by UIU for three road points.

The Bulldogs hold an 8-2 lead in the all-time series. Brian Bahl is in his sixth season as the program's head coach.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will learn its MIAA tournament schedule on Friday afternoon following the slate of four league matches. Truman will play either at 4:00 pm or 7:00 pm on Thursday, Nov. 1 in Olathe, Kan., in the MIAA semifinals.

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