Weekly Release #1
8/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Aug. 25 -- at Evansville (Evansville, Ind.), 7 p.m. CDT -- exhibition
Tuesday, Aug. 29 -- at Oakland (Rochester, Mich.), 6 p.m. -- exhibition
Friday, Sept. 1 -- vs. DePaul (Elbel Field), 7 p.m.
This Week
The Michigan men's soccer team travels to Evansville, Ind., this Friday (Aug. 25) for an exhibition game against the University of Evansville. The 7 p.m. CDT game at Black Beauty Field will be the first varsity competition for the U-M men's soccer program.
The Wolverines then head to Oakland University on Tuesday (Aug. 29) for a second exhibition contest before playing their first official varsity game of the regular season at home against DePaul on Sept. 1.
Scouting the Opponents
Evansville -- Evansville is coming off a 10-10-1 season in 1999. The Purple Aces advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament but lost in double overtime to Southwest Missouri State.
Oakland -- The Golden Grizzlies posted an 11-6-2 record for the 1999 season. They lost in the Mid-Continent Championship to IUPUI. Oakland outscored its opponents 34-16 last season.
Soccer Era to Start with Familiar Face
Steve Burns is the first head coach of the Wolverine men's soccer varsity program. Burns previously served as head coach for the Michigan men's soccer club team from 1993-99 after one year as assistant coach (1992). Under his guidance, the U-M club team posted a 121-51-26 mark (.663) and made six consecutive appearances in the national club championship tournament. The team won back-to-back national championships in 1997 and 1998.
Assisting the Way
Assistant coaches Walt Barrett and Ernie Yarborough complete the coaching staff for the inaugural season of men's soccer.
Barrett joins the Wolverines after being an assistant coach for the past two seasons at Eastern Michigan. During the 1998 season, he helped guide the Eagles to their best record in the last six years. Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, he was the head coach at Livonia Stevenson High School for eight years (1990-97). While at Stevenson, he coached the team to two state championships (1991, '96), a state runner-up finish in 1993 and an overall record of 125-15-23. He was also the head coach at Southfield High School from 1987-88.
Yarborough comes to Michigan after spending three years as the volunteer coach at Indiana University. He helped coach the Hoosiers to the last two national championships (1998, '99) and IU advanced to the Collegiate Cup each of his three seasons at Indiana. Under his guidance, the Hoosiers posted a goals-against average of less than 1.00 each of the last three seasons (0.56 in 1997, 0.42 in 1998 and 0.55 in 1999).
The Big Ten
Michigan, which becomes the seventh Big Ten Conference men's soccer program (Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin), will play its first conference match on Sept. 23, hosting preseason No. 6-ranked Penn State. The Wolverines will travel to Bloomington, Ind., Oct. 8 to face No. 1 Indiana, the defending conference and NCAA champion. Michigan will compete in its first Big Ten Tournament Nov. 10-12 at Columbus, Ohio.
Championship Experience
The Maize and Blue roster includes nine players from last year's U-M club team: Albert Geldres, Dave George, Steve Huber, JJ Kern, Pat Murphy, Brian Peters, Will Purdy, Jack Stead and Ryan Yoder. Michigan won back-to-back club national titles in 1997 and '98.
Been A While
Michigan men's soccer is in its first season after being granted varsity status in March 1999. The last Michigan men's sport to be added as a varsity program was men's gymnastics in 1948.
NSCAA/adidas Men's NCAA Division I Ranking (Preseason)
Rank, School Record Points Prev 1. Indiana 21-3-0 480 2 2. Santa Clara 17-4-2 450 18 3. UCLA 19-3-0 434 3 4. Connecticut 18-5-0 410 T6 5. Furman 21-2-1 374 5 6. Penn State 19-4-1 335 T6 7. Duke 16-1-3 330 1 8. UAB 17-6-0 313 16 9. Saint Louis 17-4-2 277 8 10. Virginia 14-9-1 265 14
Contact: Steve Grialou (734) 763-4423
