Men's Soccer 9/6/2012 9:46:00 AM Tyler Madsen, Truman Athletics

Men's Soccer Week 2 Notes: Westminster/LW-Belleville

Weekly Schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 8 – vs. Westminster (Mo.); 3:00 pm; Kirksville, Mo.
Sunday, Sept. 9 – at Lindenwood-Belleville; 4:00 pm; Belleville, Ill.

Live Stats Truman/Westminster: TSU
Live Stats Truman/LW-Belleville: N/A

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Truman men's soccer kicks off the home portion of its 2012 schedule this weekend when it hosts Westminster (Mo.) at 3:00 pm on Saturday. The Bulldogs then head to Lindenwood-Belleville the next day for a 4:00 pm kickoff.

The Bulldogs (0-2) opened 2012 with a pair of losses at the Quincy Bowl, falling 2-0 in the opener to the host Hawks before dropping a 3-2 decision to Missouri S&T on day two. The overall stats from the two matches were fairly similar, with both Truman and its two opponents taking 21 total shots and making seven saves.

Matt Langley and Tony Luedecke were the goal-scorers during the first weekend, as Langley got the Bulldogs going in the 74^th minute against S&T by finishing a Kyle Menges feed. Then, just 12 minutes later, Luedecke stepped to the penalty spot and drilled home a then-game tying goal. Drew Garrone spent 141 of the 180 total minutes in net, with Nick Wallner earning the other 39.

Truman steps out of Div. II play this weekend when it plays host to Div. III Westminster before traveling to NAIA Lindenwood-Belleville. Both programs have coaching ties to the Truman program, as Westminster is led by Martin Clayes – a first-team all-American in 2005 for the Bulldogs – while LW-Belleville is led by Dan Hogan – an all-region performer in 1983.

Duke Cochran is in his eighth season as the Bulldog head coach and has a career record of 71-47-11.

Weekly Recap with Coach Cochran:
To watch this week's recap with coach Duke Cochran, click the video link below.

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.

Checking Out the Competition:
Westminster “Blue Jays” (1-1)
Picked to finish third in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll, the Blue Jays are out to a 1-1 start after splitting a pair of matches at the Rhodes Classic in Memphis, Tenn., last weekend. Westminster hosts Ozarks (Ark.) on Friday before traveling to Kirksville on Saturday.

Westminster got a game-winning goal by Michael McDonough in a 1-0 victory against Millsaps on Sunday, Sept. 2, while a pair of keepers split the halves in net. No stats were available from the team's 3-2 loss at Rhodes.

Martin Clayes is in his third season as the head coach at Westminster, where he has a career record of 24-11-5. The Blue Jays were SLIAC champions last season and are led both by Clayes as well as former Truman player Ryan Cravens.

Truman holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series, although all four meetings came during the 1980 and 1981 seasons.

Lindenwood-Belleville “Lynx” (0-3)
Lindenwood-Belleville has started 2012 with an 0-3 mark after losing to St. Charles CC, Southwestern Illinois College and Webster to start the season. The Lynx travel to Central Methodist (Mo.) on Friday night before hosting Truman on Sunday.

No individual stats were made available on the LW-Belleville site.

Dan Hogan is in his third year of leading the Lynx program. Truman and Belleville have never met on the pitch.

Men Ranked Fourth in MIAA Preseason Poll
Making its first appearance as a conference-sponsored program since the 1998 season, the Truman men's soccer team was picked fourth in the MIAA preseason poll, as voted on by league coaches.

Head coach Duke Cochran's squad earned 27 points and edged Upper Iowa – an affiliate league member for men's soccer only – by one point for the No. 4 spot. Fort Hays (Kan.) State led all teams with 46 total points and four first-place votes, while both MIAA-newcomers Northeastern (Okla.) State (41 points) and Lindenwood (Mo.) (40) logged a pair of first-place votes each.

Following Truman and UIU, Harding (Ark.) and Southern Nazarene (Okla.) – another pair of affiliate league members in men's soccer – earned 19 and 17 points respectively, while first-year program Southwest Baptist came in last with eight points.

The 2012 campaign marks the third go-around for men's soccer as an official league sport after first appearing from 1981-1988 before returning again from 1994-1998. Truman has won six league titles all-time and has a program conference record of 34-12-6 (.712) in 13 total seasons.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs have just one match next week, as the purple and white open MIAA play at Upper Iowa University on Friday, Sept. 14 at 4:00 pm.

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