Men's Soccer Notes: Bulldogs Welcome Iowa Squads

Truman Men's Soccer Weekly Notes (Matches 1-2)
Full Notes (PDF)

Match 1:
Truman (10-6-1 record in 2012) vs. Iowa Wesleyan (0-1 in 2013)
Date: Friday, September 6 (4:00 PM CDT)
Live Stats: http://gobulldogs.truman.edu/livestats/soccer/xlive.htm
Series Record: Truman leads, 4-1.
Last Meeting: Truman won, 3-2 in 2OT, on Oct. 6, 2012 (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa)

Match 2:
Truman vs. Upper Iowa (5-13 in 2012)
Date: Sunday, September 8 (2:00 PM CDT)
Live Stats: http://gobulldogs.truman.edu/livestats/soccer/xlive.htm
Series Record: Truman leads, 9-2.
Last Meeting: Truman won, 1-0, on Oct. 26, 2012 (Kirksville, Mo.)

Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || #TSUGameDay || @TrumanMSoccer

Opening Kickoff:
The 35^th season of Truman State University men's soccer kicks off this weekend, as the Bulldogs open the 2013 campaign with a pair of home dates against Iowa Wesleyan and Upper Iowa. Truman will face Iowa Wesleyan at 4 p.m. on Friday before taking on Upper Iowa at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Bulldogs, coming off a 10-6-1 season in 2012, bring back nine starters and 20 total letterwinners for the program's first year as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Included in that mix are three all-region performers from a year ago, including senior defender Matt Langley, junior forward Tony Luedecke, and junior midfielder Nick Franta.

Before starting GLVC play next weekend, the Bulldogs have two home non-conference tests to pass this weekend. Truman went 3-0 combined against Iowa Wesleyan and Upper Iowa last season, but won all three matches by just one goal, including a 3-2 double overtime winner at IWC last October. The 'Dogs secured six MIAA points against UIU, earning a 2-1 road win in Fayette on Sept. 14 before capping the home season with a 1-0 victory in late October.

This time around, a deeper Bulldog bunch will be looking to find its identity after losing two first-team all-MIAA and first-team all-region players in Andy Chapman and Charlie Backus. The duo combined for 16 goals and 19 assists last season, comprising 48% of the team's offensive production. Five players who scored multiple goals return, however, as do both keepers who saw time between the pipes last year.

Head coach Duke Cochran returns for his ninth season on the sidelines, having compiled an 81-51-12 (.604) all-time record with the program. He is the longest-tenured coach in program history and has surpassed the ten-win mark in five of his eight years.

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-match 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.

'Dogs Picked 12^th in Opening GLVC Campaign:
The Bulldogs were picked to finish 12^th in its first season of Great Lakes Valley Conference action, as announced on August 22^nd by the league office.

The Bulldogs earned 79 points to come in 10 points behind 11^th-place Missouri S&T and 19 points ahead of 13^th-place UW-Parkside. Defending conference champion Rockhurst took home 14 of 15 possible first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own team) to lead the poll, followed by Drury (200), Quincy (195; one first-place vote), Bellarmine (175) and Lewis (149) to round out the top-five.

A total of 21 of the 33 GLVC standouts to earn All-Conference recognition last season return in 2013, including seven first-team selections.

Home, Sweet Home:
The Bulldogs will play 11 of their 18 matches this season at the Bulldog Soccer Pitch, having been scheduled eight of 15 GLVC contests as well as adding all three non-conference tilts on the home schedule.

Truman will have a shot to get off to a fast start, with five of the team's first six matches at home. Three of the matches will be GLVC contests, with Sunday's Upper Iowa match also counting as a regional game.

Season-Opening Skid:
Truman will be out to snap a two-year draught in season-opening matches, having lost 2-0 to both Quincy (2012) and Missouri S&T (2011) at the outset of the previous two seasons. The last Bulldog win in a season-opener came in 2010, when Truman downed St. Edward's (Texas) 3-0.

Under Cochran, Truman is 4-3-1 in season-opening matches.

Score First, Lead Last:
Last season, the Bulldogs produced a result in 10 out of 11 matches in which the team netted the first goal of the match. In addition, when the team put early pressure on an opponent by scoring the first 20 minutes of a match, the Bulldogs went 5-1-1 in those seven instances.

New League Awaits Truman in 2013:
After floating for 34 years between MIAA and Independent status, the Truman men's soccer team finally has a place to truly call "home", as the Bulldogs begin play as a Great Lakes Valley Conference member in the 2013 season.

Like the Truman men's soccer program, the Great Lakes Valley Conference began its sponsorship of men's soccer in the 1979 season, marking 2013 as the 35^th year of competition for the league. The league has put a total of 35 teams into the NCAA Div. II tournament, with its lone national championship coming via former member Northern Kentucky in the 2010 season. The GLVC has landed at least one team into the national tournament each of the past 16 seasons dating back to 1997 and has sent a team to the national quarterfinals in every year since 1999 excluding 2003 and 2012.

The Bulldogs have a substantial history against current GLVC opponents, having compiled a 119-77-21 (.597) record against the other 15 current league programs. Truman has the most history with former MIAA members Missouri S&T (22-9-5) and Missouri-St. Louis (16-14-5), while having also topped the 20-match mark against Rockhurst (12-15-1), Lewis (10-12-1) and Quincy (12-6-4).

All GLVC teams will play 15 league matches in a single round-robin format, with the overall top team by percentage at the end of the season earning champion status. The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament, with the top four seeds earning a home quarterfinal match on Sunday, November 3. The four advancing teams then travel to the top remaining seed for the conference semifinals and championship the following weekend, with the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament handed out on Sunday, November 10.

The Bulldogs now compete in the Midwest region, with the GLVC, GLIAC and Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) combining to compete for regional bids. No automatic bids for conference champions are awarded in men's soccer, with the Midwest region set to receive five bids in 2013.

Up Next:
The men's soccer program will be just the second Truman program to ever play a GLVC game, following the women's lead in next Friday's doubleheader against Maryville (Mo.) University. The Bulldogs host the Saints at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, before traveling to Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday, Sept. 15 for a 2:30 p.m. showdown with the long-time rival Tritons.

***
Want to stay up-to-date with what's going on with the Bulldogs? Follow @TrumanAthletics on Twitter,become a fan of Truman Athletics on Facebook, subscribe to your favorite team's newsletters/releases, and receive text alerts of scores and big news to interact with all of Truman's 20 athletic programs. For more information, visit our website – TrumanBulldogs.com.

Print Friendly Version