PEORIA, Ill. (Aug. 7, 2006) -- Members of the 2006 Bradley Soccer team reported to campus today and the Braves officially will begin preparations for the program's 19th season Wednesday with the start of practice.
In addition to the regular practice schedule, the Braves invite fans to attend the annual Red-White Scrimmage Friday night at Shea Stadium. The team will play an abbreviated intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. and will be available for pictures and autographs on the field immediately after the exhibition. Parking and admission will be free for Friday's Red-White game.
The Braves will receive plenty of preparation for the regular-season opener Aug. 25 at Shea Stadium by playing two tough exhibition games. Bradley will visit Wisconsin-Milwaukee next Monday afternoon and will take on Ohio State Aug. 18 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat the Braves twice last season, including a 2-0 triumph at Shea Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bradley and Ohio State have met four times in regular-season play and the Buckeyes own a 4-0 series advantage, most recently a 2-0 victory Sept. 7, 2003 in Columbus.
Under the direction of 11th-year head coach Jim DeRose, Bradley returns 11 lettermen, but only four starters, from the 2005 squad that produced a 15-6-1 overall record, captured the program's second Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six years. The Braves do return their top two scorers from last season, senior Zach Bell (7 goals, 18 points) and junior forward Teddy Anderson (6 goals, 16 points), and also welcome back junior midfielder Ken Hickman, who missed the last two seasons while serving a Mormon mission in Argentina and returns as the team's active career scoring leader with eight goals and seven assists in 2002 and 2003. DeRose and his staff will try to offset the graduation of 13 seniors with the addition of a 10-man recruiting class that was recently ranked No. 35 by the CollegeSoccerNews.com website.
Upcoming Bradley Soccer Events
Aug. 7 Players report to campus
Aug. 8 Boys & Girls Club visit 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 9 Practice begins
Aug. 11 Media Day (Shea Stadium) 2:30 p.m.
Red-White Game 7 p.m.
Aug. 14 at UW-Milwaukee (exh.) 3 p.m.
Aug. 18 at Ohio State (exh.) 6:30 p.m.
Aug. 25 Bradley Classic 5/7:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 Bradley Classic 5/7:30 p.m.
